Emerald Eyes
by IceAmethyst
Summary: [HiATUS]The story of Lily Evans' life through the trials, tribulations, triumphs and tragedy. (Chapter 36 is now up!)
1. We Meet Lily Evans

Lily Evans was an average girl, never wanting anything special in life, despite her parent's dreams for her future

Lily Evans was an average girl, never wanting anything special in life, despite her parent's dreams for her future. She would go to her father's elaborate law firm in the heart of London almost every weekend and watch him pour over complicated cases for hours while she went off with his slightly scatterbrained assistant, Tanya. 

After her dad dropped her off at Tanya's office, she would take Lily to the library just around the corner and read her stories about princesses and princes, ogres and trolls, and unicorns and fairies. Lily always dreamed she would end up like Cinderella and go off against the grind to marry the handsome prince. 

Around noon, Tanya would take Lily by the hand and skip with her to a bakery and buy Lily a powdered doughnut and apple cider like she always did. Lily enjoyed those early days of her childhood and savored them like the last lick of a strawberry ice cream. It saddened her to think that those days would soon be over and she would be on her own.   
  
It suddenly happened one day when Lily woke up.   
  
"Lily, darling, wake up," her mother, Candice Evans, said in a quiet, insistent voice.  
  
"Mother, it's early!" Lily moaned as she turned over to glance at the clock. It read 1:00 AM.  
  
"This is urgent! Quickly, get dressed!" her mother said, her eyes clouded over with worry.  
  
Lily could sense that something was wrong. Something obviously was; she'd never seen her mother this frantic – she had always been the picture of serenity. She buckled her Mary Janes and headed out of her room, looking quite foolish in a frilly lavender nightgown.  
  
"Come along, Lily dear." Candice Evans said, dragging her daughter and snatching the car keys from the neat little peg hanging by the refrigerator.  
  
Lily and her mother set off into the bleakness of London, lights whizzing by. Her mother must have run three red lights as they continued their mysterious journey.  
  
Lily was terrified and didn't move an inch as the small car went over bumps and potholes in the street. She didn't dare ask her mom where they were going - she was afraid the car would crash if she twitched one muscle. Ten minutes later, however, her mother calmly parked the car in the Emergency Parking section of the...  
  
"Hospital? Mommy, why are we here?" Lily asked, her mouth going dry and her heart plummeting in fear.Candice didn't answer and took Lily's hand firmly, leading her through the chilly hospital.  
  
Lily always hated the hospital because it was so big and scary. And it smelled like rubber gloves.  
  
"This way, Lily. Hurry!" Her mother said. Lily had to run to keep up with her fast pace.   
  
"Mom, where are we going?" Lily asked, hot tears spilling down her cheeks.  
  
"This way, Lily!" Her mother repeated.She turned another corner where a group of doctors were running back and forth in a room. Mrs. Evans' breath caught short and she gripped Lily's hand tighter. Lily yelped in pain and tried to twist out of her mother's grasp.   
  
"Lily, go sit on that bench. I'll be right there. STAY THERE!" She said, releasing her hand and walking off to talk to a particularly short doctor.  
  
Lily sat like a good girl, her legs swinging since they were too short to touch the ground. Her mother was shouting hysterically at people, telling them to "get working" or "can't they go faster?" Lily wondered what they were talking about. A young boy with unruly black hair and warm brown eyes sat next to her.   
  
"Hi." He chirped.  
  
"Hello." Lily said shyly.  
  
"What are you doing here?" He asked.  
  
"My mommy brought me here. She's over there." Lily pointed out a fiery-haired lady that was her mother.  
  
"You're mom looks like she's worried." He noted. Lily nodded mutely, and tears began to form again.  
  
"You'd better go talk to her, she looks sad." He continued.  
  
Lily got up and walked to her mother. "Mom, what's going on?"   
  
Candice Evans turned to face her daughter, her face contorted in tears. "Honey, I'm so sorry. Daddy was in a car accident and he's. . . dead."  
  
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A/N: Well that was short for a reason and I hope you were smart to realize why. Lol, I'm just kidding. The following chapters will be longer, of course! This chapter is kind of like the prologue, it's not important. You just need to know Lily's dad died in the first chapter *shrugs* that's it. And who IS this mysterious messy haired child? *Grins mischievously.* ONLY I KNOW! Well... you might too but... THANKS TO MY BETA READER WHO I GET TO TORTURE! BWAAAAHAAAAAA! 


	2. The Mysterious Letter

LilyE2

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Eleven year-old Lily bounded down the stairs with only one thought in mind: Get to breakfast before Petunia.

"Hold it right there, young lady!" Her stepfather said, standing right in front of the bottom of the staircase.

Lily screeched to a halt in mid-bounce and struggled to keep her balance on her toes, but failed miserably and fell flat on her face beside his feet.

Her stepfather made a loud sighing noise as she jumped up quickly and dusted herself off.

"What are you wearing?" He asked her, looking disapprovingly at her choice of outfit.

"Clothes?" Lily replied innocently.

"Haven't we already had this conversation a few times this week?" He asked calmly.

"Yes, Sir." Lily said, her voice hinting a tiny bit of sarcasm as she emphasized Sir.

"Go, and be brief, you've got ballet at 9:00!" He said crisply and gave her a little shove upstairs.

Lily twirled around and marched up the stairs, cursing ballet and her stupid stepfather every step she took. She was so absorbed with cursing everything she reached her enormous room without even trying.

She sighed and walked over to her walk-in closet where everything was neatly arranged and color-coded. She picked her breakfasting gown, (why she had this she didn't know) 

which was a frosty pink, complete with ruffles on the bottom. Lily thought it was hideously over-elaborate but never said anything.

She slipped it on over her jeans and forest-green velvet shirt and brushed out her ponytail.

"Lily! BALLET! NOW!" Her father called. 

Lily shrieked angrily, threw off her stupid pink frilly dress and grabbed her Armani bag, which held her point shoes, and tore down the stairs.

* * * * ** * ** * * * * * * * * 

Someone or something was sitting very near him as James Potter warily opened one eye. His annoying older sister, Vanessa, was staring at him.

"GET OFF ME, YOU RETARD!" James hollered, shoving her off the bed.

Vanessa didn't respond, but instead grinned in her annoying cheesy manner and thrust a letter in his hands.

He read it over quickly and scrambled out of bed.

"MOM! DAD! I GOT IT! I'M ACCEPTED!" James hollered.

No one answered to his gleeful outburst so he opened the door to the patio and found his dad outside training with his uncle, Lawrence Potter, for Quidditch.

"James! Glad to see you're up!" His dad said cheerfully, dodging a Bludger.

James grinned. "You'll never guess what came by owl today!"

"A letter confirming your stay in the Looney Bin?" Uncle Lawrence said jokingly.

James squashed the urge to throw a particularly large rock at Uncle Lawrence.

"What'd you get in the mail, son?" Mr. Potter asked, ignoring Uncle Lawrence's less-than-funny joke.

"Acceptance to Hogwarts!" James crowed happily.

"That's terrific! Which means we'll probably be spending more money on books again, correct?" Mr. Potter said thoughtfully.

James nodded. "I don't care if I have to spend my entire fortune, I am going to Hogwarts!"

"Hogwarts, what a waste!" Uncle Lawrence scoffed darkly.

"Come now, Lawrence!" James' dad said reasonably. 

"Do you realize that I'm the only one that has gone to Durmstrang, Nat?" He asked flatly. 

"I'm sure it's just the administration feels James would benefit the most from going to Hogwarts." Mr. Potter said. (A/N: Just for your information, his name is Nathan Potter)

Uncle Lawrence pulled a face and lobbed a Bludger at Mr. Potter again.

James decided not to stick around for fear of what Uncle Lawrence could be capable of.

Vanessa sat on one of the stools near the counter, listening to her Walkman and bobbing her head. James grinned and snatched the headphones off her ears, revealing loud N*Chanted tunes. Vanessa screeched and chased James up the stairs.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Lily shifted her weight and raised her right leg into an arabesque. Her arms went up into Fifth Position (A/N: for all you ballet people out there) and she stayed perfectly still.

"Miss Evans! Do not bend your knee, it ruins the effect!" Called the strict instructor, Miss Isabella.

Lily straightened up her left knee, biting her lip from the effort. She swayed and dropped her position.

"Alright class, you may come down." Isabella said swiftly, eyeing Lily with her blazing blue eyes.

"Lily, you are such a dweeb." Sneered a wispy-looking girl named Diandra. (A/N: Thats Dee-On-Dra)

"Yeah, you can't even stay in an arabesque longer than five seconds!" Chorused another pale girl named Angelina.

"Class, today we're going to start on our dance workshop. I've selected two of my star students to be the soloists." Isabella said, walking up and down the studio floor, looking at each girl carefully.

The girls looked at each other excitedly. Lily yawned and leaned her elbows on the bars even if it was impolite.

"This year's soloists are... Diandra Wellington and Angelina Bassat!" 

All the other girls supplied the stale air with light clapping while Diandra and Angelina squealed with delight as they accepted their responsibility.

Lily rolled her eyes, wishing the clock would go faster.

Sadly, time moved slower as they set to work on leaps and tor jettes and pirouettes. Finally, Miss Isabella clapped her hands and announced it was time to go. Lily tossed her point shoes into the bag and slipped into her flip-flops so fast she was like a red blur.

Her mother was outside lounging on a chair getting a massage when Lily returned home in her limo. 

"Any mail for me?" Lily asked, her shoulder cramping up from holding her bag.

Her mother lifted up her sunglasses and Lily could see where the tanning was around her eyes. Mrs. Evans looked funny.

" I don't know, sweetie, I've been out here all morning. Ask Petty. " She said drowsily. Lily sighed and went inside.

Petunia was sitting at the kitchen table tapping a glittery pencil on the counter top. 

"Hey twerp, any mail for me?" Lily asked, tossing her bag onto a chair.

Petunia said in a whiny voice, "It's over on the table."

Lily picked it up. It was curious looking, most unusual from any letter she'd ever recieved. It was a slightly yellowed piece of leathery parchment with emerald green ink calligraphy writing. Curious as ever, Lily flipped it open.

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. 

Yours sincerely, 

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Lily let the letter fall onto the table, her hands shaking slightly.

"A witch? Her?" Lily thought. What a sick joke!

"What's it say?" Petunia said, her pointy face looming over Lily.

"Nothing." Lily said shortly, balling the parchment up and tossing it in the trash.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Dodododo… oh yes, she did get a school supply list but you don't need to know that till chapter four. TOODLES!


	3. The Leaky Cauldron

LilyEvans3

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A/N - Just to tell you 72nd Street is made up. :-D

I just thought of something. Avada Kedavra is just a curse.. that kills people right? Why doesn't anyone (random) just mutter Avada Kedavra any old time and kill people? What's holding them back? 

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Lily tossed and turned in her bed that night, playing the words in the letter over and over again in her mind. 

_Someone must have had to be pretty clever to plot the entire thing_, she thought.

What if it wasn't a joke? What if it was real? 

Lily sighed in frustration and gave the sheets one last kick of her legs before clicking on her bedside table lamp and edging her way towards the dark kitchen. She stubbed her toe on an open door and clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her vehement outburst. Her stepfather would be furious if he found her out of bed that late at night. She reached the kitchen without much more difficulty and flipped the switch that lit a small light over the microwave.

_Now where is that letter?_ Lily thought. She considered digging through the trash on the curbside to find it but quickly shut that thought out of her mind.

She pulled the plastic lid off of the trash bin and noticed, much to her relief that the letter was on top of all the trash. She snatched it up with an odd sort of feeling burning inside her; one she hadn't felt since her father had died.Could it be . . . hope?

Lily unfolded the crumpled letter and smoothed it out so she could make out the words again. Something fell out of the letter she'd never seen before:

You are a Muggle and therefore will need directions to get to Diagon Alley. There is a pub called The Leaky Cauldron in London on 72nd Street. Ask for Tom, he'll guide you. 

Lily looked perplexed. London? Why, she'd lived in London all her life and she'd never seen any store or pub called The Leaky Cauldron. 

_Well, it'll do me no good sitting here!_ Lily thought, and without thinking of consequences, she took her jacket off of its hook on the wall and crept out the back door.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

The streets of London were slick and dark as Lily walked stiffly and quickly to her destination – wherever it was. Her shoes made a loud clacking noise on the pavement that she was sure must be heard from miles off. She was strangely at peace, thinking to herself that everyone she would meet would know what to do. At last, she reached 72nd Street and breathed a long sigh of relief. The street was dark except for the street lamps and it was lacking the usual activity London had. Lily's emerald eyes scanned the darkness for the Leaky Cauldron.

"This is so stupid. Why did I even bother to come here? Stupid people who led me on!" Lily said loudly into the thick darkness.

The darkness was not expected to reply, so Lily threw up her hands. Suddenly she saw something out of the corner of her eye that drew her attention.

A small dingy pub was set off to the left and squished into a small corner. Curious, Lily slowly inched towards it until she could make out the words on the tiny sign.She smiled, satisfied, as she read the words "The Leaky Cauldron" etched on it in faded Old English letters.

She walked into the pub casually, her red hair standing out against all of the different assortments of cloaks that covered most of the people's faces. She leaned against the cool marble of the bar where a tall, handsome man was waiting on customers. He spotted her and walked briskly over.

"May I help you, Miss?" He asked.

Lily smiled shyly. "I'm looking for a man named Tom." 

He pretended to look around, giving her a reassuring smile. "That would be me. What can I help you with?" 

"This might sound crazy, but I got a letter-"

"Hogwarts attendant?" He asked happily.

"Um... sure?" Lily said confused.

He grinned broadly, showing off perfect sets of pearly whites. "Bit late for you to be out shopping, isn't it?" 

Lily, caught off guard, blushed. "Well... I couldn't because you see, my parents really aren't interested in magic. But I so desperately want to become a young witch and would do almost anything, so I walked here. I don't wish to have any dampers on my plans and you certainly wouldn't do anything to stop me, would you?" 

Lily grinned and cheered inwardly. That was the best performance of her life!

Tom grinned again. "You've got spirit, kid. You'll do well in this world."

_Spirit? Me? Shy and sarcastic Lily?_ She thought, testing the word on her lips.

"And anyway, I can't let you wander around Diagon Alley alone at night, who knows? You could end up in Knockturn Alley..."

"Knockturn Al-" Lily was cut off. Tom clapped his hands crisply two times and a tiny man practically snapped out of thin air. 

"This is Francis. Francis, please take Miss-" Tom said, pausing for the insert of her name.

"Lily. Lily Evans." She said.

"Lily...Evans?" He choked out, bewildered.

Lily looked confused, furrowing her brows. "Is there something wrong?"

Tom still stood shocked, leaning in on the marble to support himself. "Nothing's wrong, Miss Evans. Just a bit tired, is all."

"Oh. Well... whatever you say..." Lily said, shrugging it off like it never happened.

"Francis, please take Miss Evans to a spare room. She'll be spending the night here." Tom instructed.

"Oh no really, you- you don't have to do that!" Lily protested, but Francis took her by the hand and literally dragged her up the stairs. Lily called to Tom a short 'thank you.' Tom just waved her away, and buried his face in his hands.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Lily awoke with a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She suddenly bolted upright in a flurry of panic realizing that she was not sleeping in her room. The images from the past night slowly drifted back into her head and she settled back against the pillows. Why had Tom been so shocked when he heard her name? They had never met as far as Lily knew. She sighed and decided to start the day out early. Lily climbed painstakingly out of bed and put on the clothes she had worn the night before. 

She slid down the golden-polished banister into the semi-busy tavern as waiters and bartenders bustled about. Tom spotted her and waved awkwardly. Lily ran up to greet him.

"Hullo, Tom. I was wondering if you would be so kind as to offer directions to all of the places I need to be at today." Lily said importantly.

"Sorry Miss Evans, can't help now. Perhaps you'd like to find them yourself for the sake of adventure?" He asked nervously, but beside all that, smiled slightly.

Lily was taken aback and shocked. "Oh... I-I guess so." 

Tom didn't answer and just turned away. Something was not right.

Without another word, Lily turned on her heel and stalked out into her first real encounter with the Magical World. 

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	4. Madame Malkins and Ollivanders

LilyEvans4

a.n.- Guess what? The first draft of this was deleted because my computer had to shut down! ARG! Well I'll make this note quick, I've got a story to write! Ok, Madame Malkin's is supposed to be this really small place well I thought that maybe I'd spice up 

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It wasn't more than five minutes into Diagon Alley that Lily found the first store she was looking for: Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

It was quite chilly in the huge warehouse-like store. The beige-gray walls were plastered with pictures of smiling (and some pouting) models that were showing off the latest fashions in robes. Lily gently touched a tie-dyed robe, wondering who in their right minds would wear something like that – it belonged in the '60's - and immediately a small, slightly plump woman appeared.

"Hello, I'm Madame Malkin! Welcome! May I help you today?" She asked cheerfully, spreading her chubby hands.

"I'm looking for robes. I'm going to Hogwarts." Lily said, handing Madame Malkin her school supply list.

"Hmm..." She clicked her tongue and instantly a measuring tape shot out of her wand. Lily gaped in amazement as it began circling around; measuring her waist.

Madame Malking scribbled the statistics on a piece of paper and briskly walked away. Lily waited patiently, hearing the muffled shuffling of fabric.

She returned a few moments later, her arms laden with seven or eight black robes. 

"Will that be all?" She asked, a smile on her rosy cheeks.

"It says I'll also need at least three dress robes." Lily replied.

"Hmm.. well all of the 'trendy' dress robes have been sold but I do have some rather nice and elegant robes in the back I save for my most special customers." Madame Malkin said with an over elaborate wink.

Madame Malkin led her around to the back of the store where indeed, there were some very pretty dress robes.

"Now dear, let me get a good look at your eyes." Madame Malkin said. Her watery blue eyes bored into Lily's glittering emerald-green ones.

"A nice silver would look just marvelous on you!" She announced. 

Lily didn't know what to say so she just nodded as Madame Malkin shuffled through the nearby rack and pulled out a shiny, silky silver robe. It felt to Lily like it was woven from water as she delicately folded it and stacked it on top of the black robes.

"How about this one, dear?" Madame Malkin said and pulled out a dark forest-green robe that seemed to be made of crushed velvet (a.n. - velvet that's been well.. crushed and sewn back together. Rather neat looking pattern.) with a low-cut neckline. The neckline, Lily decided after some skeptical thinking, she could live with.

The final robe Madame Malkin just seemed to have looked like a mixture of light blue and light lavender when it shone in the light. It was more of an old-fashioned robe with a diamond-studded collar and sleeves. 

"This gown was passed down from my mother, I've saved it for that certain customer. Take special care of it." She said softly, and placed the robe into Lily's outstretched hands.

Lily quickly paid Madame Malkin, thanking her as she exited.

"What a _queer woman!" Lily muttered with a small smile, sinking onto a bench and pulling out her supply list._

_Next I have to buy a wand . . . I wonder what that's going to be like!? _She thought excitedly, and got up again with her heavy bags banging into her sides.

Lily started to notice the people around her as she searched the streets for the right shop.Some were exactly like her - intimidated and shy – while others were noisy, rambunctious people who must have grown up in this life. She would have traded anything in the world to live with wizards instead of being stuck with a self-absorbed mother, a snooty father and a lifeless sister.

Coincidentally enough, her thoughts had somehow led her to a place called Ollivanders. Realizing this was probably the only wand shop in Diagon Alley, judging by the sign out front, she went in.

A small bell dinged when she came in and an old man creaked to her aid.

"Ah. A new witch in the wizarding world. Hogwarts, I take it?" He asked, his brown eyes sparkling over half-moon spectacles. 

"How does everyone seem to find that out before I say I am?" Lily inquired, peering at the man.

"We magical people can see what no one else can." He replied mysteriously.

Lily shrugged. "So how exactly do you buy a wand in this place?"

"Which is your wand arm?" He asked.

"My what arm?" She asked bewildered.

"The hand you write with." He explained, drawing out a measuring tape.

"Oh… then it would be my right." She said, distracted as he measured her arms and torso much like Madame Malkin had done.

He looked perplexed as he drew the measure away from her. "This is very strange indeed…"

"What is?" Lily asked, she felt her mouth go dry.

"N-nothing." He said, looking away.

_Everyone is acting so strange! I wonder why? _Lily thought, concentrating on the ever-interesting dusty wooden floor.

Mr. Ollivander cleared his throat and reached for a wand on the countertop. 

"Honey Wood, 12 inches, two Karbba Dragon heartstrings." He said, and handed the wand to Lily.

Lily felt like everyone was watching her and if she made a mistake everyone would laugh at her. She looked at the wand. 

"What do I do?" She asked meekly.

"Wave it around!" He said, like it was no big deal.

Lily felt foolish indeed as she waved the wand around. Nothing happened.

"Tricky customer, eh? Don't you worry, we'll find the right wand somewhere…" He said and handed her another wand. Lily waved it and again nothing happened.

"Hmm… try this wand. It seems to choose the very beginners to the magical world," he said, handing Lily a beautiful springy cherry wood wand. Lily waved it around, but this time, instead of nothing happening, a warm, tingling sensation seemed like it was taking over her entire body. Red and white sparks shot out of the wand and flashed and bounced around the room. 

Lily smiled widely, concealing her true glee. "Is that what magic is?"

"Ah, but it is much more than just sparks. It is what you believe and that is where true magic comes from." Mr. Ollivander said wisely.

"It seems to have also chosen you because you have such a free spirit…" He continued. Mr. Ollivander looked at Lily and smiled. 

"I believe it chose me because I have a free spirit too, Mr. Ollivander." Lily said nodding. She gave him a small smile and paid him.

"Good luck to you, Miss Evans. The magical world will suit you well." He said and disappeared with a puff of neon-purple smoke.

Lily stared in shock where Mr. Ollivander once was. _How did he know my name?_

_ _

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WOOOOOOO! How did he know her name? Only I know, and only you will find out!

R/R! Thanks to my beta reader, EnglishBrat!


	5. A Foreseen Future

LilyEvans5

a.n. – I have nothing to say. EEP! That's not good… Oh yes! I DO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY! I spent seven hours at the dance studio, slaving away my time. 

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The clouds looked heavy with rain as Lily finished buying her last and final school supplies. But not even a hurricane could have dampened her brightened spirits about finally getting away from her horrible family. She practically skipped all the way to the Leaky Cauldron. 

She reached for the heavy brass handle on the door of the pub . . . and stopped short, noticing a small shop to her right. 

"Madame Rosemary's Quirks and Love Spells?" Lily said questioningly, reading the tattered wooden sign. All the mysterious places in Diagon Alley did seem to have old, uninviting signs.Lily had noticed, though, that the more battered it looked, the more fascinating it was inside.

Curious as what 'quirks' were defined as in the magical world, Lily went into the shop. Inside, it was filled with a musky smell, and lots of cracked jars with interesting labels. Lily leaned over to read on label that read 'grindylow' on it. 

_What on earth is a grindylow? _She thought, her happiness fading into curiosity.She moved her finger towards the jar to see if she could take it out.Abruptly the "grindylow" squelched itself against the jar, its beady eyes locked on her. Lily leapt backwards with a shriek. She decided it wise not to examine anything in this shop too closely. 

There were some interesting signs curled up at the edges that read rather disgusting sale items such as 'Dragon Spleens Cheap! Three for 4 Sickles!' or 'Pig Snouts: Reduced Price of 3 Galleons!' Lily shuddered. 

She was backing way towards the entrance when she accidentally bumped into a table. Afraid she'd knocked something over; she whirled around, ready to mutter any apology that spilled from her lips. A woman with frizzy black hair hidden behind a large, gauzy purple scarf sat calmly at the table, and looked as though she didn't even know Lily was there. Her eyes were closed, revealing dark blue eye shadow. Lily decided not to bother this strange gypsy-like woman so she quickly moved closer to the door. 

"Welcome to Madame Rosemary's, Lily Evans." The strange woman said in a soft, musical voice.

Shocked, Lily turned around. "How did you know my name?"

"The Fates have informed me." She said blatantly, in a mystical voice. 

"Oh." Lily said. There really was no other option on how to say 'oh, I see, you're crazy. Goodbye.'

"Sit, my child. Would you like your fortune told?" Madame Rosemary asked. Lily pulled out a pouf to sit on; there was no other option that was polite. A crystal ball sat in the middle of the table, omitting bright white light. Lily looked skeptically at the large glass ball. She'd heard about terrible things people had done once they'd found out the future of their lives. 

"I guess so." She admitted truthfully.

"Gaze into the crystal ball." Madame Rosemary instructed. Lily did as told, and warily opened her eyes.

The ball slowly changed from white, to light pink, to dark pink, to purple and back to dark pink. Madame Rosemary waved her long ring-clad fingers over the crystal ball, humming a tuneless song softly. Lily quirked an eyebrow and was suddenly sure she definitely didn't want to know the outcome of her future.

"Gaze deeply into the crystal ball." The woman said again.

Lily tried her best to look into to deep smoggy pink ball but nothing appeared to her. She tried harder, concentrating on nothing else. Amazingly enough, she began to see shapes. Her fingers gripped the table so hard her fingers hurt and her knuckles turned white. She couldn't look away.The figure started to become clearer and clearer and soon it was so visible it was like Lily was watching a movie. 

There was a woman… with dark red hair, strangely enough just like her own. And there was a man with wild, crazy black hair with sparkling brown eyes. They were holding a baby that seemed to be cooing, but Lily couldn't tell, as there was no sound. 

Then the picture flashed forward a bit and it showed a dark-hooded man point a… wand at the young couple and shout something. Before a practically blinding flash of green light fill up the crystal ball, the black haired man gave the girl a quick peck on the cheek and they both fell to the ground, lifeless. The image flickered and then disappeared. Lily's face was white with fear, and she felt a nauseous feeling sweep over her. She forced her gaze away.Her fingers were clammy.She brushed a flyway piece of hair out of her face.

"What did you see?" Madame Rosemary asked kindly.

"N-nothing," Lily said shakily before bolting out the door.She could have sworn she heard Madame Rosemary cackle.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

That was too short I know, but I had to get that chapter out! Hugs to EnglishBrat! HURRAH!

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	6. Danny

Le6

a.n. – Well, you can guess what I'm doing this late at night: PROCRASTINATING! My favorite 'P' word besides 'Prongs.'*grins widely* Yes, yes anyway, back to the procrastination at hand. You see, because of the recent tragic events that happened in our country (oooh yes you guess it I'M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! Yek yek yek.) I have to write an essay about why I'm PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN. I have a pretty good beginning but other than that, I happen to be stuck!So I've decided to whip out some 'writing magic' out of these worn out fingers at… 10:15 P.M. This chapter's mainly about getting back on track with the plot about Lily's parents… so it might be another snoozer until the plot really actually kicks in. Don't you hate explaining everything? 

And to ~*Hermione*~ - Don't fret, dear. Lily gets to King's Cross in this chapter.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Two days later, Lily quietly opened the back door, which, to her astonishment, was unlocked. Her house was dark and quiet.

_Everyone must still be asleep… _She thought with relief, letting her tensed muscles relax.

"Lily, darling! Is that you?" Candice Evans said, her ears pricked up. She set down her thick romance novel and stepped out from the study. She found her daughter, who'd been missing for almost a week, standing rather calmly in the center of the kitchen.

Lily cringed as though her mother would strike her. "Hello."

"Oh, Lily! We were so worried about you!" Her mother said, throwing her arms around Lily's neck over elaborately. Lily was practically strangled as her mother's grip tightened.

"Mom! I'm fine, really!" Lily protested.

Her mother pretended not to hear that and bluntly commented, "You're father won't be too pleased to find you here after all the searching he ordered."

Lily repressed the urge to roll her eyes. What did she care if her father went out searching for her? He'd only done it probably to win over her mother.

"And why shouldn't he be pleased to see his youngest daughter?" Lily asked scornfully.

"Oh you know him, he's so intent to get you out of the house." Her mother replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Lily stared at her mother in shock, the sting of her words settling over her. "What?"

"Lily, darling. You must understand-" 

"WHAT DO I HAVE TO UNDERSTAND? I understand perfectly! You all hate me and wish I were never born! Well… well, I'll show you all! I'll run away and never come back!" Lily shrieked lividly. And pushing her astounded mother aside, she stomped up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door.

She paced back and forth, grabbing this and that and shoving it into the trunk she'd purchased in Diagon Alley. Lily spotted her robes and other assortments of magical trinkets and stuffed it all in as well. Her mind was still racing with threats and anger, and she was determined to the leave the damned house that had taken her happiest days and her father away. After much struggling with the huge, awkward thing, Lily managed to shove her trunk out her open window. She slowly eased herself over the ledge and climbed down the long tangles of vines growing alongside her bedroom window. 

She dropped cat-like on the ground a few moments later and picked up her trunk. She turned around to gaze at the house she'd spent eleven years at, a small tear trickling down her cheek.She might never see it again . . . Days flashed in front of her eyes.Happy days.Days she'd never see again. 

Something brought Lily reeling to her senses and made her remember that she had to get to Hogwarts somehow. Or this whole thing was pointless.. 

"How in the world am I supposed to get there?" Lily cried aloud, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"Follow the Yellow Brick Road, sweetheart." Said a sardonic voice. Lily whirled around. There was a man leaning casually against a tree with dirty blond spiked hair and a goatee. He was wearing a black leather jacket and tinted aviator sunglasses hanging off his white t-shirt. 

Lily thought it was quite rude to be called 'sweetheart' by a perfectly queer stranger. 

"Who are you?"

"Name's Daniel, but everyone just calls me Danny." He said, flashing his same Cheshire cat grin. 

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked, trying to keep the shakiness out of her voice. This was becoming an awkward situation. Then again, how many people show up looking ready to go to a party leaning against a tree at midnight? And oddest of all, her front yard tree?

"Here to help you, babe. Dippet sent me." He said casually.

"How dare-" Lily spluttered, turning a deep shade of red.

"Chill out, sweetie. It's all cool." Danny said, waving it aside. 

"Who is this Dippet?" Lily asked, not liking this boy's manner at all.

"Headmaster at Hogwarts. Sends me out to do the dirty work." He replied.

"Dirty work?" Lily asked, genuinely confused.

"Collecting Muggles, princess." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Don't call me a princess. I can handle things perfectly well myself, thank you." Lily said coldly.This man was getting on her nerves. 

"Oh?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"You don't believe me?" Lily asked dangerously, her eyes flashing.

"You look like such a delicate flower. You could break." He replied bluntly, studying her.

Lily tried to ease away from his sight, and shifted her weight.Her previous anger had been replaced with uneasiness "So- what do you do now? Once you've 'collected' me and all?"

"Well what do you think, princess?" He said with a mock voice of puzzlement.

"Don't be so rude to me, you barbarian." Lily snapped.

"Temper, temper little Miss Tigress." Danny said, waggling his fingers in that oh-so-annoying mother mannerism.

Lily rolled her eyes. She hated boys she couldn't control.(A/N: Oh that poor girl. She can only IMAGINE what I have planned for James to do to her.)

"You were saying?" Lily asked, veering off topic.

"Kings Cross, nice place. Bit over publicized if I say so myself." He said, examining his nails.

"I _know _where and what King's Cross is, you prat. How are _we _going to get there?" 

"For someone so pretty, you sure got nothing underneath." He replied.

"Yes well someone as handsome as you I would think could afford better manners!" Lily retorted indignantly.

"Handsome? Me? I'm touched, princess." Danny said, pulling a face.

"My name is Li-ly, so don't call me princess." Lily said, slowly annunciating her name so the point was taken.

"Whatever, princess." Danny replied.

"How are we getting to King's Cross?" Lily repeated, knowing her argument was lost.

"Again, someone with your looks, nothing underneath." Danny said, "We in the wizard world always travel by ways of either Floo Powder, Portkeys, Apparition or Muggle forms of transportation that have been enchanted to fly. But in this case, we're just going to use brooms." Danny said.

"You're too young for Apparition, dear lady." He continued.

"A broom?" Lily asked, the thought of flying a cleaning utensil repulsing her. "What's next? I have a cat named Midnight?"

Danny shrugged and pulled something from the side of the tree. A glistening brown broom – so dark, it was almost black – was held by his eerily long fingers.

"Shooting Arrow, very latest model." He said, running a hand over its sleek surface.

Lily didn't know how to reply, as she didn't know a thing about flying broomsticks. 

"Do you intend me to fly on that… that… thing?" she spat.

Danny nodded. "How else are you going to get to Hogwarts?" 

"I-I don't know."

He grinned. "Ladies first."

"Whoever made up that rule should be killed." Lily muttered the broom rising up slightly she swung her left leg over it.

Danny mounted the broom so he was sitting in front of her. "If you get _scared _just hang onto my shoulders, ok, princess?" 

Lily gulped and nodded.

Danny kicked off the ground and Lily's stomach lurched. 

_Good Lord, what have I gotten myself into? _Lily wondered as the night air whipped her long red hair (A/N: IT RHYMES!) carelessly in different directions. Lily looked down, despite what people tell you not to do and saw London and it's bustling Friday night life as big as ants.

"WON'T WE BE SEEN?" Lily yelled, the wind whipping in her ears.

"We're flying above the clouds, princess!" He yelled back.

Lily, feeling foolish, blushed as she looked down again to see her feet occasionally going through a cloud.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Exactly an hour later, Lily's feet hit the pavement. She was on her way to Hogwarts.

  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A/N: WELL! That took long. : -D Thanks to EnglishBrat, my most humble editor. 

* cough * yeah right.


	7. Arrival At Hogwarts

Forgive the lateness of this chapter, but it took an INCREDIBLY long time to write this! Not to mention Fanficion being down and my beta reader taking about a month to read it! It's like nine pages long on original format! But I do hope you enjoy it!  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Lily thanked Danny again, and lugged all of her belongings onto the crimson train.  
  
Merry little place this is, isn't it? She thought scornfully, as a burly, scary-looking boy stepped on her foot.  
  
Walking off the stinging in her foot, she picked her way through the bustle of each compartment, enduring shoves and shouts with gritted teeth.  
  
Breathing heavily and cursing under her breath, she shoved open the door to the last compartment and tumbled into a nearby seat.  
  
Two startled girls looked up. They were almost complete opposites; one had long blonde hair and hazel eyes while other had sleek, mid-shoulder length black hair with dark blue eyes and rimmed glasses.  
  
"Oh. hello. Sorry to disturb you." Lily said, smiling apologetically and mentally racking her brains for where she was going to sit now.  
  
"That's quite alright, we're used to it, after having those annoying boys pop in and out of here." replied the blonde with a friendly smile.  
  
"Haven't seen them yet." Lily mused aloud.  
  
"You will. They're like pesky flies, they won't go away unless you swat them." The black-haired girl said calmly, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, crossing her legs yoga style.  
  
"Why, I don't believe we've introduced ourselves!" the blonde girl said suddenly. "My name is Misty Hamilton, and my partner in crime here is Sabrina Felicity Brimstone." Misty said and held out a pale hand. Lily shook it.  
  
"I prefer not to be called by my full name, if you please. Sabrina will do just fine." Sabrina said, adjusting her cat's-eye glasses.  
  
"Or Sabby, as her father so affectionately calls her." Misty whispered.  
  
Sabrina pretended not to hear this comment and stared out the window with a sniff.  
  
"What do you suppose it's like at Hogwarts?" Lily asked, after the silence between the three of them had thickened.  
  
"My sister said it was the worst way to be trained for a witch and transferred to Beauxbatoms in her fourth year. She said the teachers were awful and the material ill-taught. I hear they let frogs loose in the halls and if you're late for class, they dye your hair a repulsive-colored green for the rest of the day. So I've heard, anyway," Sabrina said. Lily gulped and tugged at her collar a little.  
  
"My brothers loved it. Then again. they did pull an awful amount of pranks on the Transfiguration teacher. poor thing." Misty put in, fingering a silver horseshoe-shaped charm on a delicate silver chain around her neck.  
  
Lily nodded in silent agreement. "I'm a Muggle, so I've no clue what it'll be like."  
  
"We can only hope we don't have to battle trolls." Misty said ominously.  
  
Lily blinked, not knowing whether or not she was kidding.  
  
"Misty, be a dear, fetch me my book please." Sabrina said, crawling catlike into the seat in front of them and stretching her long legs out.  
  
Misty rummaged in a large bag beside her and threw Sabrina a large leather- bound book, then pulled out a long, blue satin ribbon out of her purse and tied her hair into a ponytail.  
  
"Sabrina's cool as a cucumber when it comes to most things. She was raised to be a very serious child." Misty whispered to Lily.  
  
"I can tell." Lily answered, peering at Sabrina, who was bent over her book.  
  
And that pretty much ended their conversation until.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
"Wow! Lily, that's so cool!" Misty squealed, digging her light blue nails into Lily's arm.  
  
"Ouch! Yes, it's a very pretty sight, Misty. You can let go of my arm now," Lily said, wincing.  
  
Hogwarts was fast approaching, and all the windows in the castle were lit up in the also fast approaching dusk. It was like something out of a fairy tale.  
  
"Wha-what? Is it time to get up and wrestle trolls?" Sabrina muttered groggily, her black hair falling across her face.  
  
"You fell asleep?" Misty asked incredulously.  
  
"My head is still pounding from when we jolted down those hills!" Lily said, rolling her head from side to side emphatically.  
  
Sabrina blinked, and then sat up and finger-combed her hair. Misty and Lily simply watched her do this, because at the moment it seemed more interesting than looking at their future home for seven years. Minds of eleven-year-old girls often worked in odd ways.  
  
A loud droning voice suddenly came up over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Hogwarts. Please leave all belongings and exit the train slowly and orderly. First years will be met outside. Please do not shout, scream, squeal, or make any unnecessary noises."  
  
"What a quaint way to start the next seven years off; some old guy drones us to death," Sabrina sneered, grabbing her black leather purse off the seat and starting down the train.  
  
"Sabby, don't have a bad attitude about this or we'll ship you off to Durmstrang!" Misty said, shaking a finger. Lily laughed and followed them out. She was stepping off the train when an owl caught her eye.  
  
"Hey, look at-"  
  
Her foot caught itself in a vine, making her trip and sprawl out face-first right smack-dab in the middle of all the first years.  
  
"How utterly embarrassing, Lily dear," Sabrina said, laughing and helping her up.  
  
"Thanks. I think." Lily said, brushing the extra mud off of her new robes.  
  
"First years, come this way!" called an elderly man, waving a lantern.  
  
"An old man is escorting us to Hogwarts? What is this, the old guy parade?" Sabrina spat, hitching her purse up.  
  
"What's it with you and old people anyway, Sab?" Lily asked curiosly, as they strode up the dew-laden grassy hill.  
  
"Mum, Dad, my sister, and I lived with my mother's parents. I hated them." Sabrina said simply.  
  
Lily nodded, though wondering what two people could possibly do that could cause this much hate in a person. They fell silent for the rest of the trip to the magical castle.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Slipping slightly on the grass as they finally reached the Hogwarts front door, the three collapsed on each other, breathing heavily. The old man opened the door and herded them in. A stern-faced, black-haired teacher led them off to another set of large doors. At these, she stopped and turned to them.  
  
"Welcome to Hogwarts! In a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates for the sorting," she announced in clipped words. Lily thought she saw her smile.  
  
"I can't wait, this is too exciting!" Misty squealed, grabbing onto Lily's poor arm again.  
  
Though Lily didn't voice it, her insides were burning with anticipation and fear. Then slowly, ever so slowly, the great oak doors opened and light flooded out over the first-years.  
  
Misty's grip seemed to tighten as the three awkward friends stepped carefully into Hogwarts, as though the floor was made of a delicate glass and would break if they stepped too hard.  
  
Hundreds of thousands of candles were lit and floating around the main hallway, casting eerie shadows on the faces of other students.  
  
"I'm so nervous I can't walk straight," Misty whispered.  
  
"I'm so nervous I could faint dead right here!" Sabrina hissed.  
  
"I'm so scared I'm going to turn around and leave." Lily said, staring straight ahead where a small stool was being set out by a very old-looking man.  
  
"What's that for?" asked Sabrina, whose eyes were wide open.  
  
"Oh no! We're doomed! We really do have to fight a troll! I WANT TO GO HOME NOW!" Misty shrieked.  
  
The whole first year line turned to look at Misty, who blushed furiously. "I meant I could handle whatever they make me do."  
  
Lily, who'd been holding her laughter in, hiccupped. Misty glared at her.  
  
"Well it was funny!" Lily said truthfully, biting her lip to hold back giggles.  
  
The loud scraping of two cabinet doors being opened made heads swivel to where the lady with black hair was carrying to the stool what looked like a brand-new felt witch's hat.  
  
"Does the troll put that on to dual with us?" Sabrina asked, looking at the hat with sudden interest.  
  
"Why would a troll have to wear a hat to fight us? Wouldn't he just club us to death?" Lily asked, causing the three of them to break out into giggles in the silent, awkward atmosphere of Hogwarts.  
  
"When I call your name, you are to approach the stool and put the Sorting Hat on, then you will go straight to your House table." The black-haired lady called out crisply.  
  
"We just have to try on a hat?" Lily exclaimed, feeling foolish.  
  
Sabrina and Misty gawked at the woman.  
  
"I'm going to kill my brother," Misty said, clenching her fists.  
  
Lily didn't get to reply because the first name was already called out and excited murmurs and titters swept through the first years like a tidal wave on the sand.  
  
The hat, to Lily's astonishment, voiced something that sounded like 'Hufflepuff' out of a little rip near its brim!  
  
Sabrina let out a little squeak as her name was called.  
  
"Good luck!" Misty whispered.  
  
Sabrina coolly sauntered up to the stool, and reluctantly placed the hat just barely on her head. She shut her eyes tightly, gripping the sides of the stool hard and firm.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!" It shouted. Misty nearly pulled Lily's arm off as shouts of 'hooray' erupted from the both of them.  
  
Sabrina, before taking off towards Gryffindor table, grinned at them and ran to the table.  
  
Lily's nerves were wearing down to breaking point when the woman, dubbed 'Professor McGongall' finally called out.  
  
"Evans, Lily!"  
  
This is it, Lily. Don't do anything stupid! She thought, and boldly stepped forward. Misty gave her a pat on the back, and smiled sadly.  
  
Lily took a deep, shuddering breath and sat awkwardly on the stool, placing the hat delicately on top of her head.  
  
(Ok, the stuff the hat says is in bold and the stuff Lily says.well, isn't.)  
  
Hello, Lily Evans.  
  
Er. hello. How does everyone know my name?  
  
Why, don't you know? You're destined for great things, Lily Evans.  
  
What sort of things?  
  
Oh, I could go on and on about what you will accomplish in your life span, but I would be ruining it.  
  
I'm sure you'd not want to spoil my horrible fate. Aren't you supposed to tell me which House I'll belong in?  
  
Oh, I already know which House you'll belong in, Lily Evans. It doesn't take much to decide the fate.  
  
I don't mean to sound.er.think rude but could you move it along a little bit?  
  
1  
  
2 Of course, you, Miss Evans, are destined to be in.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
Lily's shut eyes slowly opened, and stunned, she walked to the cheering Gryffindor table in silence.  
  
"AHA! I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU'D BE IN GRYFFINDOR! A JOB WELL DONE!" Sabrina hollered, hugging Lily, who was still in shock.  
  
"I. don't believe it." Lily stammered, but Sabrina was too busy trying to get Misty's attention.  
  
"Ok, Misty should be up soon. what letter are we on?" Sabrina asked, settling down in her seat.  
  
"K, I think." Lily muttered.  
  
Sabrina nodded and checked her reflection in one of the spotless golden plates.  
  
"Do I have a pimple, right here?" Sabrina asked, pointing right near her nose. Her skin was milky white, with no flaws whatsoever.  
  
"Not a single blemish exists on your face, Sabrina." Lily said smiling, knowing Sabrina probably wanted to hear that anyway.  
  
"I take very good care of my skin!" Sabrina said primly.  
  
After several impatient foot-taps and loud sighs omitted from Lily and Sabrina, the 'H's' were called out.  
  
"Hamilton, Misty!"  
  
Sabrina and Lily's eyes snapped forward and stared at Misty, as though she would disappear if they didn't look.  
  
The hat seemed to pause, and Lily thought her lungs would explode if she didn't take a breath soon.  
  
"Gryffindor." The hat said mysteriously and unusually quiet, not to mention unsure of itself.  
  
"How queer. The hat seems to have lost its vote of self-confidence." Sabrina snickered.  
  
Why did the hat falter? Lily wondered, as a very flushed Misty pranced over to the table and delicately sat down.  
  
"That was really weird, don't you think? I mean, the Sorting Hat was all 'I cannot choose because you are destined to suffer a great many heartaches' so I kindly requested to be in Gryffindor with my friends." Misty chirped, but said no more on the subject.  
  
"Oh, wow! Look at that guy!" Sabrina said, staring at a particularly tall boy with messy black hair and sparkling warm brown eyes.  
  
"He's cute." Misty replied, her attention focused raptly also on this boy.  
  
"I don't think he's cute. I think he's actually rather gangly and.well, ugly," Lily said in disgust. "And plus he's too tall. How on earth are you to kiss him?"  
  
"What's the sudden interest in kissing?" Sabrina asked, turning around to face Lily.  
  
"No particular reason." Lily said airily, wishing Sabrina would go back and stare at Gangly-Boy.  
  
"Have you ever been kissed Lily?" Misty asked tentatively.  
  
"Of course I have!" Lily spluttered, turning a light shade of pink. The truth was quite the contrary; she'd never been kissed. She'd spent her miserable eleven years at an all-girls academy where they not only learned how to do math and science, but old-fashioned social work such as table setting, waltzing and other forms of dancing, sewing and many other sorts of impractical balderdash not even valid in the 1960's.  
  
"Who was it? Was he cute? Handsome? Smart? Rich?" Sabrina asked, fluttering her eyelashes. At the moment, Lily found it quite hard to believe she was supposed to be the "serious, shy one."  
  
"You wouldn't know him, he was quite a shy boy with"-Lily looked around the room- "red hair and. blue eyes."  
  
"What a combination!" Misty said, looking around the room as well.  
  
"I've been frenched before." Sabrina said mysteriously.  
  
"By whom?" Misty said sharply.  
  
Sabrina flushed a dark crimson. "No one, Misty."  
  
"WHO?" Misty pressed, in a dangerous, steely voice.  
  
"Yes, who Sabrina?" Lily repeated, an evil grin crossing her features.  
  
Sabrina gulped. "Well Misty, remember John Burgsby?"  
  
Misty let out a high-pitched squeak. "Eep! You mean that annoying neighbor whose parents worked for the Office of Wizarding Health?"  
  
Sabrina nodded glumly. Misty laughed out loud. "Oh, I hated him! Always telling me how to play Quidditch! I could beat him flying on my broomstick backwards!"  
  
"Now, now Misty. Let's not be too modest!" Lily teased, though she had not the faintest idea what Misty was talking about.  
  
All the while they were talking about boys and kissing, the Sorting Hat had been put away and the Headmaster was calling for quiet.  
  
"Ahem!" Came the feeble coughing of the frail-looking wizard.  
  
All heads slowly rotated to where this old wizard was standing.  
  
"Thank you. Welcome, new Hogwarts attendants! For the next seven years, I look forward to seeing you, and hopefully not in my office." A few weak chuckles could be heard.  
  
The Headmaster beamed as he continued, "I see so many bright faces of the future, and it's exciting to think I'll be educating you. I don't want to delay this celebration anymore, but I have a few announcements to be made before we dig in. Firstly, the Forbidden Forest, as always and every year, is out-of-bounds for anyone. Secondly, Quidditch practices start in exactly one month, and Quidditch tryouts are in two weeks. I do believe Gryffindor needs a new Seeker."  
  
Several people at the end of the table nodded vigorously.  
  
"Well, I shall delay the feast no longer, enjoy yourselves!"  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
* wipes sweat from forehead * Wow. Did that take long or what? R/R! 


	8. James Potter

Ok, I apologize for the image you got of Sabrina. * glares at beta reader * My . . . * clears throat * colleague seemed to have thought Sabrina was _dorky._ I assure you, dear readers, she isn't. What I meant for her to be was one of those girls where she knows everything about fashion, makeup and boys and seems to have an unshaken vote of self-confidence. She and James are so compatible, * laughs * I'm serious! Except… it's the opposite. James… isn't into makeup… and boys… * trails off * 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"We have to have goals. You know, like morals and stuff like that, that we want to accomplish in our seven years here." Misty said suddenly. They had just settled into their rooms and were unpacking when Misty found an old chalkboard in one of the spare closets. She carefully placed it on a blank wall.

"Not lose my virginity?" Lily joked. 

"Sleep?" Sabrina added, grinning evilly.

Misty looked aggravated. "I'm serious you guys! I mean it, my mom's into all this psychoanalysis stuff and she says if we write down our goals we'll get much more accomplished and feel better about ourselves knowing we're taking a chance to get it done."

Lily frowned. "What if we have no goals?"

"My goal is to get to know that cute boy… what was his name?" Sabrina asked, wrinkling her nose. 

"How am I supposed to remember?" Misty snapped, searching the closet for a piece of chalk.

"Well, my goal is to get top marks in every subject." She continued, brandishing a piece of worn-down chalk and writing in great, bold letters her aspiration.  

Lily looked around the room. What was her main goal in life at Hogwarts? Was it to become popular? Get good marks? Be able to do magic? Or was it something deeper and truer…like be herself? 

"I'd most definitely like to know who that really good-looking guy was downstairs at the Sorting." Sabrina said thoughtfully, sweeping her silky black hair into a high ponytail and taking out her numerous earrings. 

Misty and Sabrina looked expectantly at her. Lily gulped. Perhaps she'd just go along with what Sabrina said, better to make friends than enemies anyway. 

"I'd really like to meet that boy… too… I guess." Lily said. She'd erase it some other time.

Misty looked reluctant before she put it up. 

  
Sabrina brightened as she clinked her earrings into a small Christmas tree shaped glass tray. "Hey, why don't we go down to the Common Room and see if he's down there!" 

Lily's stomach seemed to bottom out. What kind of friends would they be if all they ever did were being fascinated with the opposite sex? 

"I was sort of hoping to see more of the Common Room than I saw anyway, would you mind it Lily?" Misty asked.

Lily shook her head and, although she was awfully tired, trooped down with Sabrina and Misty.

"This is so cool! It's like being in college!" Misty squeaked with excitement, throwing herself onto a plush red couch. Sabrina rolled her eyes, muttering something that sounded like 'oh, grow up' under her breath as she most primly took a seat on a stiff-backed red velvet chair. 

Misty wiggled her mismatched socked feet as a sort of waving to three boys that suddenly entered through the portrait, looking rather flushed.

Sabrina let a small gasp wriggle from her throat as she realized one of them was the dark-haired boy from the Sorting and clasped the chair sharply.

"'Lo!" Misty said in a friendly voice, swinging her legs so she was sitting properly on the couch. 

Lily waggled her fingers in a sort of shy, awkward way of her saying hello. She wasn't much for talking to strangers, especially strangers that were handsome and that were going to be her classmates.

"Hello." Sabrina purred in a silky and soft sexy voice. Lily's eyebrows shot up. Was it even proper to do that? Hadn't she ever heard of 'first impressions'?

"I'm Misty Hamilton, and these are my friends Lily Evans and Sabrina Felicity Brimstone." Misty said, somewhat formally as she messed with her hair. 

The one person that they'd seen at the Sorting sidestepped the other two and flopped next to Misty.

"James Potter." He said smiling, extending his hand to shake. "These are my friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin."

Both of the boys nodded, the black-haired one, Sirius, came over to Lily's chair and kissed her hand. She grinned like an idiot, although she wasn't a 'fast' girl.

"I'm Sirius, but you can call me whatever you want to, babe," he said devilishly to Lily. Lily's jaw dropped, and she buried her face in her hands, her face on fire. Sabrina laughed out loud.

"You'll have to forgive him, he thinks he's God's gift to women." James said, smiling a crooked smile sending Sabrina almost in hysterics. 

"He lives to be forward, and no one ever ends up having sex with him," Remus replied bluntly, also grinning.

Sirius looked apologetic, and crawled onto the couch where James and Misty were sitting.

"Have I mentioned he thinks with his genitals?" James cracked, hitting Sirius in the shoulder with a pillow.

This made Lily crack up. A boy criticizing the way he thought was priceless.

Misty smiled uncertainly; Lily seemed to be bonding with the guys rather well. All of the sudden, a tall boy burst through the portrait hole looking very tired and worn out in his scarlet robes. 

James stared blankly at the boy. The boy stared blankly at James.

"ORION?" 

"JAMES?" 

"You're in Gryffindor?" The boy, Orion, said shocked. 

James narrowed his eyes. "You expected Slytherin, Mama's Boy?" 

Orion blushed, but retorted, "I did expect something other than Gryffindor, if that's what you mean. You don't have enough courage to confront a wet mouse, James."

James clenched his fists. "Oh yeah? Then what happened to that _brave _boy who was too afraid to stay in Grandma's cottage because of bats?" 

"James, _darling, _as much as I enjoy family feuds, I don't believe you've introduced Orion to the class." Sirius remarked, grinning mischievously.

James clenched his teeth, and took a few deep breaths. Orion looked like he was relishing James introduce him to his friends and struck a pose.

"Ladies and _gentlemen, _may I introduce my _brother, _Orion?" 

  
Lily smiled. James and Orion looked almost exactly alike, except Orion had blue eyes.

"Don't you have some award to win or something?" James snapped, crossing the room to sit next to Lily, trying to get as far away as possible.

Orion looked amused. "Don't you have some cowering to do? I hear another Malfoy arrived at the school tonight."

James groaned. "Not another one, don't you remember Sivor Malfoy?" 

Orion shuddered, as did Sirius and Remus. "They were the worst neighbors; I'm so glad they moved."

"Remember the time Lucius threw a Quaffle onto our roof and it flew through the kitchen, breaking all the glass? I thought my mom was going to go out there in her facemask and slippers!" Sirius said, howling with laughter.

Lily observed how well Sirius, James and Remus interacted with each other. They looked like they were much closer than James and Orion.

"How long have you two known each other?" Misty asked, obviously thinking along the same lines as Lily.

"I should say a good ten years… but that includes being born and stuff like that." Sirius said, looking at James and Remus for agreement.

"My mum and Sirius's went to Hogwarts together." Remus added. 

James grinned viciously. "My dad had a wicked crush on Sirius's mum."

Lily looked at James, and sighed. "I wonder what it would have been like to have my parents go to Hogwarts…But we're all muggles in our family.  Petunia…" Lily gave the slightest shudder at the name, barely noticeable, and continued. "Sometimes…sometimes _she _can almost make me believe I _am _a freak…" 

The room suddenly became quieter, and was filled with an unspoken outrage at being insulted by this Petunia person.

"Lily…" Misty broke off, looking uncomfortable. James patted her arm sympathetically. Lily blushed slightly at his touch.

"Well… I'm really tired. I should be getting some sleep since we do start classes tomorrow," she squeaked and ran up the stairs.

James pulled his arm hastily away, like he'd touched a hot iron. Everyone stared at him.

"The poor girl has parents that pay no attention to her!" He protested.

Sirius looked sympathetic as he stood up to turn in too, "James, buddy, it's not good to fall for a girl you just met."

Misty and Sabrina giggled sleepily. "'Nighty-night, James."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Short, but I got mostly everything out of the way. R/R! ~ IceAmethyst


	9. Potions, Arabella and Classroom Brawls

A/N: Oops, silly me. I swear I was going to put Arabella in the last chapter, but I forgot. Oh well, she's just sort of 'in the story' now. =)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Lily, come on! We have to get up!" Someone was shaking her. Who would be up this early?

Lily groaned loudly, turning onto her side and checking the clock. She bolted up. "Sabrina? It's 5:40 in the morning!"5

Indeed it was Sabrina, not looking a bit tired, unlike Lily. "Sorry, I'm really excited about our first day. Can I do your hair? My fingers are itching to do _someone's!_"

Lily yawned and rubbed her eyes, looking at Sabrina like she was deranged. If she was, Lily didn't want her touching her hair.

"Go see if Misty's in need of a cosmetologist." Lily replied, swinging open her dresser and pulling out one of her black robes.

Sabrina bounded over and jumped onto Misty's bed, making the latter scream in pain.

"Hey Misty, in need of a makeover?" Sabrina asked devilishly.

Misty shoved Sabrina off her bed and went back to sleep, muttering about "deranged psycho maniac monkeys". Lily howled with laughter. Other girls started to stir, muttering about killing the person that woke them up and looking decidedly murderous.

Lily frowned nervously and slid out of the girl's dorm muttering apologies. She padded down to the Common Room in her fuzzy pink slippers down to the girl's locker room. (A/N: You know what, I don't think I should call it a locker room, but you guys know what I mean when I talk about it, right? I mean it's a place where the girls go to shower and stuff.). 

She accidentally bumped into someone, dropping all of her womanly toiletries.

 She blushed crimson when she realized it was James.

"Hello, Miss Evans. Out for a morning stroll?" He remarked, grinning.

Lily blushed darker. "No, I'm sorry, I- I wasn't paying attention. First day jitters, you know?"

"It's fine, I'm really nervous too." He said bending down to help her pick up her scattered supplies.

"What are you doing up this early, James?" Lily asked, not meaning to sound nosy.

"I couldn't sleep and was about to go down to the kitchens or something for hot chocolate but… then I got sidetracked."

A small smile lit up Lily's sleepy features. "I was going to go shower because I don't have anything better to do. Sabrina jumped on me this morning hoping I'd let her give me a makeover. Needless to say, I declined her offerings." 

James grinned wickedly, looking remarkably like Sirius. Lily wondered if he'd picked up too much of Sirius' less-than-favorable habits. 

"Tell Sabrina anytime she wants a makeover, she can come to me." 

Lily suppressed a shudder. She'd established the fact that she was no longer dealing with what she'd thought mere hours ago was a charming, polite James Potter.

"Well… I should get…showering… school starts in a matter of less than two hours, you know." Lily said awkwardly.

"Yeah, and if I don't want to fall asleep during a 'vital lesson,' I should go get that hot chocolate." James said, and winking at her, he left. 

Lily couldn't help but grin. She'd been one of those girls at the academy who, when her friends came back from the holidays, had nothing to talk about because the only thing they could talk about was their boyfriends and French kissing. Being finally noticed by someone, even if he was just a friend, had a really satisfying feeling to it.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"There you are! We were wondering if you got lost!" Sabrina drawled. Obviously her "girly stage" had finally tapered off.

Lily shook her head as she was seated between Remus and Misty at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. It wasn't until then that she realized how famished she was. 

"Find that hot chocolate alright, James?" she teased. 

James grinned. "Good morning, Miss Evans. Shower went well, I presume. I've never seen a girl glow so." 

Lily blushed furiously. She really wasn't used to flirtatious comments. She wondered if she was supposed to say anything back.

Professor McGonagall suddenly interrupted Lily's thoughts when she shoved a piece of parchment under her nose. 

"Schedules!" She barked. Lily glowered at her professor's impertinence as she snatched the parchment from Professor McGonagall. 

"First class… with Slytherin?" Sirius practically shrieked with anger.      

Lily must've looked alarmed, because Remus said in a loud voice to drown out Sirius' protests, "The Slytherins really are no fun, from what I've heard about them. It's best you stay away from them at all costs."

Lily nodded grimly, hoping she could remember that. She was usually a friendly person, despite the fact she could most definitely hold a grudge longer than anyone she'd known.

The three friends and the Marauders finished breakfast in a friendly atmosphere and set off to the dungeons for their first class.

"Come on Lily, we want to get good seats before the geeks take them." Misty said jovially, skipping through the hallways. Sabrina stared at Misty like she was mental, as did James and Sirius. Remus didn't seem to mind it and even skipped to catch up with Misty.

"Ok, make note of this: skipping to Potions most definitely is not the way to be going about doing things." Sabrina said disgustedly as they turned a corner to the dungeons.

A blast of cold air chilled Lily as they swung open the giant wooden door. It smelled dank, like no one had been in the dungeon for a few years. James shut his eyes as the smell became overpowering. 

"Let's go find a - a seat." Misty said, her words sounding strangled as the smell practically choked them.

"It's probably the professor's cologne or something." Sirius muttered. All of them erupted into quiet laughter.

A few people turned around in their seats to see who was laughing. 

"Well, if it isn't _James Potter!_" Drawled a voice. Lily stopped laughing to see who had spoken.

It was a pale boy, with pointed features and silvery-blond hair. 

"Malfoy," James jeered, his voice dripping with scorn. 

"I see you've picked up some admirers, how many _did_ you blackmail?" Malfoy said, matching James' disdain in his voice.

James narrowed his eyes. "I don't know anything about blackmailing, Malfoy, but you sure define it."

"Oh, ouch Potter. I'm shivering from the insult!" he sneered. 

"You won't only be shivering, Malfoy, you'll also be missing all your teeth and two black eyes if you don't turn around and spare us your ugly face, you twit." Sirius said threateningly.

"Leave them alone, Lucius. Pick on people with your own brain capacity." Lily turned her head back, looking to see where the new voice had come from.

A girl with long brown hair and almost blinding sapphire-blue eyes was reclining leisurely in a chair with her feet propped up against a desk. Lucius looked as though he was about to say something, but Lily could tell something was holding him back. She wondered what and was about to ask when to her astonishment, Lucius paled and turned around without another word.

James stared from the brunette to the back of Lucius' head.

"I'm impressed! You can actually tell a _Malfoy _to shut up!" Sirius said, his eyes full of adoration.

"Don't get used to it. Malfoy just needs to know his place." The girl said, examining her fingernails.

"I'm Lily Evans, mind if my friends and I sit with you?" Lily asked, admiring this girl's boldness. The brunette smiled and nodded.

"By the way, my name's Arabella. Arabella Figg." She said as the professor entered.

The instructor was a woman, with wispy blonde hair and brown eyes to rival James'. She was rather small for her age, which Lily guessed to be around 35 or 40. She thought she was rather attractive compared to the other eyesores at Hogwarts.

"Hello class! I'm Professor Cleary, and I look forward to seeing you all for the next seven years!" She said cheerfully.

"As do we!" James and Sirius whispered enthusiastically back in unison, amused expressions on each of their faces.

Lily rolled her eyes and Misty slapped Sirius' arm playfully. 

"Instead of starting out our first class with Potions, why don't we all gather in a circle and tell each other your names!" Cleary said, bubbling with happiness.

Lily's views on the women changed in a blink. 

James stared at Professor Cleary. "Is she crazy? We're 11, not 6!" 

"If she thinks we're going to do these touchy-feely activities all the time, I quit!" Sirius said huffily. 

"Sirius, you can't quit." Lily pointed out. 

"Yes you can. But I don't know how… yet." He said, smiling wickedly.

 "Come on now, don't be shy! We have to get to know each other sooner or later! Better to make friends than enemies!" Cleary called, as students reluctantly got up from their seats.

"Well, I suppose it's better than actually learning potions." Remus admitted as they all were seated around their fellow classmates.

"Remus, I hate you. How can you even come up with outrageous statements like that?" Sirius asked.

"Even though they are true?" Sabrina spoke up. She hadn't talked much since they arrived in the dungeon; she had been too busy checking out all the boys.

Sirius scowled and was about to reply with something witty when Cleary interrupted him with another outburst of gushiness. 

"Come now, children! Let us all sit in a "magic circle"! Teehee, a good bit of humor, if I do say so myself! It's not _actually _magical, you know. We simply keep the 'magic' alive with kindness and friendliness!" She clapped her hands in excitement.

"I can't take much more of this, and this is our first day!" Lily said, trying to keep calm.

"She's nuttier than a cheese log." James agreed. Cleary sat in the center of the circle, in a painful looking yoga position. 

"Well," Sirius remarked, trying to keep his breakfast down, "That's graphic."

"Ok class. Let's start out by learning each other's names. So what I want you to do is to go around the circle and say your name. Let's start with…" she scanned the room and pointed to a rather plump boy with dirty blonde hair, "you."

"Peter Pettigrew!" He squeaked.

"Linda Johansen" The girl said sitting next to him. James was next, and Lily didn't like the look on his face.

"The Swami of Brazil." he said casually, leaning on his elbows.

"Dwight B. Ghilettsburg-Newton Thornbirch Crandall the Third." Sirius said, cottoning on, smiling wickedly and looking at Remus for continuation.

"Spider Man." Remus said wearily.

"Ophelia Delia Vandergrift Plutz." Sabrina said with a smarmy touch to her voice.

"Ursula of Stratford-Upon-Avon." Misty said with a giggle.

It was Lily's turn. She sighed and said "Savannah Bellevue" with a slight Southern accent.

All of her friends laughed and all she could do was blush. Everyone was looking at them like they'd just turned their hair orange.

Arabella, who sat next to Lily, most enthusiastically and obnoxiously said in an American accent, "Jessica Taylor." 

"Where ever did you learn to talk like that?" Lily asked, astounded at the accuracy.

Arabella smiled assertively. "I have a cousin who's a muggle and American. We visit her every summer." 

Lily nodded, wondering what America was like. In her musings, she'd missed half the classes' names, but she didn't mind. They weren't a friendly bunch and she _didn't _feel she'd make friends with a whole lot of them.

"OK, now that we've learned everyone's names, why don't we do some soul cleansing? It's very relaxing and will sooth the tension in the air." Cleary said, glowing with delight. 

Lily's eyes went big and Sirius let out a wolf whistle. "Soul cleansing, eh?"

James elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"Honestly, does anything not remind you of sex?" Remus said disgustedly.

Sirius grinned. "Not that I can think of, although I'm welcome to suggestions!"

"I'm going to assign you to yoga partners, and these are the people you will work with the entire year. Your job is to come into class every morning and do what is on the board for the morning yoga stretches. Any questions?" 

"Will these be boy and girl partnering?" Asked a chubby brown-haired girl. 

Professor Cleary nodded. "I think so. It would be nice to know each other from the opposite sex."

"Yes, it would." Sirius agreed, smiling.

"I made these lists last night so there's no complaining about who you're partnered with." Cleary said, getting out of her rather awkward yoga position and grabbing from her desk a fresh piece of parchment.

"Ahem. Alcove and Blots!"

"Bitts and Barman!"

"Black and Figg!"

"Pettigrew and Hornsby!" Lily giggled. Olive Hornsby (A/N: Sorry to interrupt valuable reading time… did Myrtle go to school the same time Lily and James did? * thinks * I don't know, oh well, Olive as well as Myrtle will only be mentioned in a few parts, briefly I might add. If you think or know you know if Myrtle went to school with them, email me at Redraz1599@aol.com, ok?) was the girl who was sitting next to Peter, and he seemed to have taken a shine to her.

"Potter and Evans!" James grinned at Lily. Lily grinned back at him, though her mind was in a frenzy.

"Hamilton and Madison!" Misty looked over to where a strapping, dark brown-haired boy was sitting with a few other Gryffindor boys, ones that they didn't know. Misty nudged Lily to look in the boy's direction. Lily's eyebrows lifted slightly as she looked at him with mild interest. 

Misty slapped Lily's arm. "Hands off, he's my yoga partner." Lily laughed.

"Brimstone and McDonnell!" Sabrina groaned as a nerdy boy looked in her direction, his glasses as thick as glass Coke bottles.

 "Lupin and Estes!" A girl with long, strawberry blonde hair looked over at Remus. She smiled and waved at him. All he could do was stare. Sirius looked furious and made it his own personal mission to tease him about it.

"Just my dumb luck." He insisted, as Cleary told them to spread out in the classroom so they could have time to practice.

Lily and James went over into an unused space by the blackboard. 

"Is she supposed to tell us what we're doing? Because I've kind of… you know, forgotten how to do yoga. Since I do it so much and all." James said acerbically.   

Lily laughed. "Well how am I to trust you?"

James held up his hand and crossed his fingers. "Scout's Honor."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I think being sarcastic will be the end of you."

James shrugged. "It's part of my personality. If you can't accept it, then that's your problem."

"Wise words from a not-so-wise man." Lily said, grinning.

"Give me a reason and I'll turn your hair into solid gold." James waved his wand threateningly over Lily, "It's not fun. I turned my sister's hair gold once and her head was weighed down for half an hour while my parents tried to find the counter-curse."

Lily smirked. "So you've perfected the Golden-Haired Curse."

James smirked back. "I've learned a _few_ curses and hexes in my years on Earth." He said _few _the way you would brag to your friend about getting 39 presents for your birthday.

"You like pranks? I mean you do them frequently?" Lily asked. Suddenly the conversation took a turning point, even if the answer was 'yes.'

James' eyes lit up. "Like pranks? I LOVE PRANKS!"

Lily couldn't help but imagine a four-year-old James, putting glue on someone's chair. She grinned at the image.

"What?" He asked, looking utterly confused. 

 Lily quickly bit her lip. "Nothing. Is there any particular reason you play tricks on people? You seem very sweet." She blushed, realizing she said that last bit out loud.

James blushed too, though his was more noticeable than Lily's. "I don't know, I just think it's funny. And don't call me that… my auntie calls me that." 

Lily nodded. "Would _nice _work?"

James shrugged. "Nice is the description of someone who does nothing but bring an apple for the teacher. That's not me."

"No, it isn't." Lily concurred.

"What about you, Miss Evans? You seem to know so much about me, yet I know practically nothing about you." James asked, as he slowly put his wand away.

"There's nothing for me to know. I've been a lonely girl for eleven years who was shipped off to a boarding school at age 6 and then I was transferred here with people telling me I possess magical powers," Lily said, plucking at her robes in a glum way.

James shook his head from side to side. "You have to stop doing that."

"Do what?" Lily asked.

"Feel sorry for yourself!" he said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Sorry for myself! I am _not _sorry for myself! I'm _overjoyed _at the way my life turned out!" Lily shrieked angrily, her voice full of spite. 

"Well stop pretending like you have a great life if you don't think you have it!" James snapped, his sudden temper getting the better of him.

"What are they going on about?" Arabella asked absentmindedly, watching Lily and James throw insults and other meaningless words at each other.

Sirius shrugged, trying to do some of the complex-looking yoga drawn rather accurately on the blackboard. 

"How can you say you don't know? It's not a good sign for new friends to be fighting." She said worriedly.

"How would you know?" Sirius asked, getting up and brushing his robes off.

"It's just a bad omen! It's common sense, Black." Arabella snapped, not taking her eyes off them.

"Look, Arabella, I've known James practically my whole life. A little tiff means nothing in a friendship with him." Sirius said, watching Lily take out her wand.

"Uh oh," Remus said, coming over to join Arabella and Sirius.

"Redheads have horrid tempers. My aunt always ends up storming out on my uncle at Christmas time because he drinks too much eggnog," Sirius said knowingly. 

"I like eggnog," Remus chirped. Arabella rolled her eyes.

"Just one more word and I'll hex you off the face of the earth, James!" Lily threatened, waving her wand around.

"Then I guess that makes two of us!" he said, smirking.

"Either that or I'll just wipe that smirk right off your face." she considered. 

James shrugged. "Whatever works."

Lily suddenly realized even though she'd poured over her textbooks she'd bought at Diagon Alley, she knew of no spells or curses to use on James. She did the only thing logical and socked him in the face. He howled in pain and doubled over, blood pouring from his nose. Amidst his pained cries he managed to mutter '_Goldineus Incantatum!'_ and Lily's head suddenly felt much heavier as the class started laughing hysterically. 

James had indeed proved to Lily he knew the Golden-Haired Curse. 

"What is going on here? Mr. Potter, Miss Evans! Are you two ok?" Professor Cleary hurried over and bent over James to check if his nose had stopped bleeding.

Lily, on the other hand, was feeling extreme pain in her neck as her gold hair took its toll. "Excuse me, but I'm the one with gold hair here!" Lily said exasperatedly.

"Finite Incantatum." Cleary said absentmindedly and waved her wand at Lily. Lily slowly lifted up her head, afraid the weight would completely break her neck. Her hair felt considerably better and lighter as she patted it to make sure it wasn't solid anymore. The telltale silky feeling as she ran her fingers through it confirmed it was no longer solid. 

"Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, would you please escort Mr. Potter to the Hospital Wing?" Professor Cleary asked exasperatedly. Sirius and Remus nodded as James slowly got up.

"Oh, no please Professor, let me! I was the one who injured him!" Lily protested. Guilt gnawed at her insides and she felt terrible at what she'd done. 

James looked horrified but Professor Cleary seemed delighted at the idea. "That's _fabulous_ Lily! Just… just marvelous that you can admit your mistakes and volunteer to help the one you wounded!"

Lily smiled at her emotional teacher, while all the while thinking in her mind "_Lord, why me?_"

James held his hand cupped under his nose as they both awkwardly left the Potions classroom and into the fresh air of the corridors. 

"You don't have to take me to the Hospital Wing. In fact, I'd prefer it if you didn't," James said, looking worried.

Lily snorted softly. "I'm really sorry about that James, I just realized that since I don't know any spells that I could just… um…" Lily broke off. 

"I'm sorry too… when I get really _really _angry, my temper flares up." He admitted, as they turned the corner to the Hospital Wing. 

"Mine too! My parents always called me the 'flaming tigress' because I'd get mad at my sister for teasing me." 

"You have a sister?" He asked.

Lily nodded grimly. "She's three years older than me and looks absolutely nothing like me. She's a bony, sallow-faced little sissy nuisance that does nothing but complain about not getting the perfect outfit or whatever."

 "Older sisters are _annoying_. My sister, Vanessa, is 18, and all she ever does is play some stupid Muggle music – if you can call it that - on her record player."

"Aren't you from a wizard family though?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, except Vanessa works for some Muggle thing at the Ministry and gets to work with all of these crazy gadgets and such and she's become infatuated with their music," James explained.

"Ah, new patients! What can I help you dears with?" A tall, gangly-looking woman with a kindly face interrupted their conversation, towering over them and her cat's-eye glasses reflecting off sunlight pouring in from a window.    

Lily looked at James pointedly. His nose had stopped bleeding, but there was no taking chance. 

"Uh… I seemed to have taken a bad fall and my nose started bleeding. Professor Cleary sent me," James lied.

The woman looked sympathetic and made little clucking noises while she grabbed her wand from a nearby counter. 

_She sounds like a chicken, _Lily thought and muffled a laugh by biting her lip.

The nurse waved her hand over James' head, muttering some words that sounded like ancient Latin to Lily. 

"You seem to check out ok, Mister Potter. Do try and not be a stranger around here!" the woman said, winking obviously.

James shuddered as they turned to walk back to the Potions classroom. "She fancies me, I'm telling you!"

Lily gave a slight shake of her head to get a rather disturbing mental image out of it. "I think she does too, which is morally wrong because-"

A ringing bell cut off Lily from the rest of her sentences as door-opening sounds fell on their ears like dominos. 

Students poured from classrooms, nearly trampling Lily as she fought through swarms of frantic people.

Then, as quickly as it began, the hassle stopped. 

Lily flashed James an apologetic smile. "Er… we should be getting to class before we get detention." 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

A/N: * yawns tiredly* Eleven pages should satisfy you for a little while. R/R! I know this took very long to get out… but live with it!  I write slowly when I have writer's block! Luv, IceAmethyst


	10. Flying Lessons

A/N: Sorry for starting this chapter so late, I've been really busy with Christmas and stuff and all the extra stories I'm writing. I think that Misty and Sabrina will not be mentioned much in this chapter, sorry for the inconvenience! 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"The cliques are slowly forming." Arabella commented at breakfast, a few weeks into the term. She spotted a group of blondes laughing and striking numerous, not entirely appropriate poses for boys that passed them by.

"They're probably from Hufflepuff. Those blokes are _brainless_ as all get out, I'm telling you." Remus added, stirring his porridge around and adding lumps of sugar.

"Ugh. More of that disgusting oatmeal," Lily said, looking rather ruffled and red in the face as she sat down between the two. 

"What? You don't like the meals here?" Remus asked, slightly bewildered. 

Lily shook her head, causing wispy strands of hair to fall out of her bun. "It's not that. Oatmeal reminds me of home." 

Arabella tried to look sympathetic, but her face was contorted so she looked like she was going to sneeze. Lily let out a long sigh and poured herself some orange juice.

"Hey, flying lessons today you guys! I _just _heard it from some Ravenclaws!" James said excitedly, running over to the table.

"No way! I could've sworn Dumbledore canceled lessons after what I heard last year!" Remus exclaimed, just as ecstatic as James.

"Flying lessons? You mean we get to fly… on brooms?" Lily asked, looking up at the two. Her stomach suddenly started churning, remembering the incident she'd had with Danny.

"Well of course we fly on brooms! We certainly don't fly with dustpans!" James said laughingly. 

"Of course not, but… even me?" Lily said, panicking. Her fear of heights had somehow increased since the expedition to King's Cross.

"_Especially _you, Lily Evans. Muggles need to be able to accept the wizard's modes of transportation, so we don't die out and such." Remus said, matter-of-factly.

Arabella gave him a queer look. "Have you been rummaging through the Ministry's pamphlets on the safety and benefits of riding broomsticks?"

Remus looked guilty. "My dad's head of the Department of Wizard Transportation."

James laughed loudly. "Man, remember that time we got to have a go on those new… what were the called? Butterflies 200? Something crazy like that and the brooms turned out to be hexed!"

Lily looked uneasy and a bit sick. "I can't fly. I can't fly on a broom. I have a terrible fear of heights. I get nauseous just looking at airplanes."

"What are airplanes?" James asked, looking perplexed.

"Great, hulking pieces of metal that Muggles fly in the air to transport them from one place to another," Arabella said absently. 

Lily nodded mutely, looking around for something for her to breathe into. James handed her a paper bag with a sympathetic smile.

"It's not all bad, Lily. Flying is fun!" Remus said cheerfully.

"Please don't say anything. I'm going to be sick." Lily said, turning a pale green. She retched, and James' immediate reaction was to lay a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 

"Do you want me to get the nurse or something?" Arabella asked nervously, getting up and inching away from a very green Lily.

Lily waved a hand as if to tell her off. "I'll… I'll be fine."

Arabella sank back down on her chair and sighed. "This day is not starting off well."

James shrugged. "We've got a reluctant damsel on our hands, Remus. What ever shall we do?"

  
Remus grinned mischievously. "I say we make her fly on your broom, Mate." He mimicked an Australian accent to near perfection.

"I think you're both loonies. I can handle it… I think." Lily said, trying to stand up. Her knees gave way suddenly and James caught her by both elbows before she crashed to the floor. She looked up and flashed him a smile of gratitude.

"Are you sure about that?" James whispered. She attempted to swat him away but all he did was hold on to her arm as he, Remus and Arabella escorted her out to the Quidditch field for the flying lessons.

"Is this optional by any chance?" Lily protested weakly. 

Arabella sighed loudly. "Lily, you're never going to overcome your fears unless you face them!"

"But I don't want to face them _now! _How about in three years?"

Neither James nor Remus replied to her protests and they all simply kept walking.

"Five years? Or, or how about if I were to never fly! You know, it could be… er… hazardous to fly because I could… hit a bird!" She whimpered, fighting for any excuse she could get her hands on.

"Oh honestly, Lily. James will fly with you!" Arabella said, and with a final tug she pulled Lily into one of the lower bleacher seats. 

"You think I sincerely need someone to help me fly a cleaning utensil?" Lily asked incredulously.

"Lily, James won't really be helping you… he'll be giving moral support… on another broom," Arabella said, fighting to twist out of Lily's strong grip on her arm.

"Hey, there's Misty and Sirius and Sabrina. Let's go say hi!" She continued, trying vainly to escape now. 

A tall, graceful lady with silky black hair suddenly swept on the scene. She held a shiny broom in her hand and gave out some stern looks to some boys in Ravenclaw who were messing around.

"Welcome to your first flying lesson, class. I am Madame Florin. Today we will start with the basics of handling your broom and learning how to mount and kick off."

Lily laughed a little too loud. "That really confirms my fears, thank you Madame!" 

Arabella elbowed her sharply in the ribs. Lily looked guilty and then hiccoughed loudly.

"Anyway," Madame Florin said and she gave Lily a sharp glance, "I want all of you to grab a broom and spread out." 

"Ok Lily, please get up for Arabella and James." Arabella said, speaking to a rather giddy Lily like she was a two-year-old.

"Is someone coming to help me fly? Or am I on my own?" Lily asked seriously. 

Arabella and James exchanged nervous looks. "Listen, Lily. The whole point of flying is the ability to do it by yourself. All of us will be flying there with you." James said.

"Ok." Lily said and stood up and brushed herself off.

"Lily, are you ok?" Remus asked, coming over to them. Lily picked up a splintery old broom and whirled around to give him a huge 100-watt smile.

"I'm fine. I go to a place where some old fool teaches me how to transform a desk into a skunk and whatnot. Now I'm going to go fly on a Muggle cleaning utensil. I'm fine," she said and started laughing hysterically.

"I wonder if we should place her in one of those places where mattresses line the rooms." Sirius said, coming over to watch this entertaining scene of Lily rolling on the grass with tears in her eyes.

"Mattresses? That'd be fun!" Arabella said, her eyes lighting up.

"We should do something about Lily. If we're not careful, she'll go from happy to mental in a couple of seconds," James said, looking at Lily nervously.

"Three…two…one…" Sirius said sarcastically.

"Up you go, Lily. That's a good girl," Arabella said, assisting James, Sirius and Remus in picking her up and dragging her to an open space.

"Can you stand properly enough to mount your broom?" James asked, testing the waters by taking his hands away. She swayed slightly as Remus, Arabella and Sirius dropped their hands as well.

"I'll be fine guys. I'm just really… not prepared to do this," she said, getting nervous butterflies in her stomach as the rest of them mounted their brooms. Lily knew it was time to face the music, sink or swim, take the final step. She reluctantly swung her right leg over the broom. Her stomach plummeted slightly as the broom sunk faintly under her weight. 

"Guys! LOOK! I DID IT! I'm ON THE BLOODY BROOM!" Lily screamed, gripping the splintery handle and hoping she didn't receive a cut.

Arabella flashed her a thumbs up and shot up in the air, practically dragging Lily with her. Lily shrieked loudly and James quickly flew over to see if she was ok.

"I'm fine, James. Thanks for being concerned," Lily said once she regained her composure and breath. She tried to keep the frustration and sarcasm out of her voice, but hints were surfaced.

"I just don't want one of my friends hurt with me so close," James said sincerely.

"Accidents happen," Lily said acidly and tried to move forward.

"Lean forward more, you're too tense," James remarked and flew off to talk to Sirius and Remus.

Lily suddenly wished she had something hard to throw at everyone who'd ever treated her like a piece of glass.

"Hey Lily! Isn't this great, flying and all? I've never done this before, and I grew up with two brothers who are Quidditch fanatics!" Arabella called to Lily, daring to try a loop-the-loop.

"It's great all right," Lily muttered. A blonde girl, shrieking and laughing loudly, suddenly hit her broom. Lily was caught by surprise and her hands flew off the broom to protect herself from another contact with the impudent girl. Lily shrieked in shock and horror as she was flipped upside down, her knees the only thing hooked to a piece of wood hovering a good 50 feet in the air. Despite her situation, she suddenly happily thanked her parents for strict ballet training. 

"SOMEONE HELP ME! I AM GOING TO FALL!" she screamed.

And without further warning, the broom flipped itself right side up. Lily had only enough time to put her arms on the handle before it went hurtling at top speed towards the lake.

_Are brooms really supposed to do this? _Lily thought, panicking thoroughly. 

"Whoa! Is that supposed to happen?" Sirius asked, watching Lily hurtle through the air.

"Oh my God! Lily's going to get killed, someone help her!" Arabella shrieked loudly.

"I'm on it. Remus, Sirius, you guys fly near me in case I need backup," James said, racing towards a doomed Lily.

"OH, PLEASE STOP YOU STUPID PIECE OF…WOOD WITH…HAY ON THE END!" Lily cried, tears now freely streaming down her cheeks. 

The broom, seemingly cursed, screeched to a halt in midair. The impact sent Lily flying off the broom and falling into the fathomless lake.

Lily felt excruciating pain and cold as she broke the surface and tumbled into the frosty darkness. The icy water stabbed at her like thousands of tiny needles pricking her all over. She couldn't even think a single thought, but what she realized was that she was doomed to die, and no one was going to rescue her. An ominous, large and shady creature unidentifiable at the time loomed over her…

"Ooh…" James let out a strangled cry as Lily, looking as lifeless as a rag doll, slammed into the water.

"SIRIUS! REMUS! I HAVE TO GO DOWN THEE!" James hollered to the other two, panting and trying to keep up with him. He swiftly removed his robes and dropped them carelessly off the side of his broom. 

"James, you're an idiot! You'll never make it!" Sirius yelled back to him.

"Yeah, you can't even properly dive off of my diving board, what makes you think you can jump from here?" Remus remarked.

James lowered the broom just inches above the water. He grinned back at the two anxious boys wringing their hands furiously.

He saluted them and jumped into the icy depths, a short sleeved shirt and slacks the only thing weighing him down.

_I can't very well strip, just in case Lily's alive, _James thought wryly, scanning the darkness for any kind of sign to lead him to Lily.

A matter of seconds later, he was forced to surface minus the redhead. He quickly drew in a sharp breath and went down under again. This continued for several long, anxiety-filled moments until he spotted something moving behind a bush of kelp.

_LILY! _His heart raced when he realized who it was. Her hair was out of its orderly bun and floating around her eerily pale face. He didn't dally in staring at her oddly pretty features and quickly came to whatever senses that hadn't been squashed temporarily by the cold and grabbed her around the waist. To his horror and to measure out evenly the latter, he felt he was losing the oxygen in his lungs. Frantically swimming faster and faster towards the little dot of sunlight he'd focused his attention on, he felt Lily starting to stir.

They both broke the surface and left James gasping for breath as he hoisted himself and Lily onto the grassy bank. Sirius and Remus cautiously flew over, accompanied by Madame Florin and Arabella. 

"DEAR LORD! IS LILY OK?" Arabella shrieked, dismounting her broom with the others and running towards them.

"Yeah, yeah she's fine. Get me something warm, fast!" James said distractedly as he searched for his abandoned robes. Sirius handed them to him and he quickly covered a blue-lipped Lily with them. 

"We should get her to the Hospital Wing immediately!" Madame Florin shrilled, hustling them all away.

Suddenly, Lily stirred again and coughed some water up. 

"LILY! GOD GIRL, YOU GAVE US ALL SUCH A HUGE BLOODY SCARE!" Arabella screamed with joy, running and tackling Lily in a hug. 

"Miss Figg, please contain yourself!" Madame Florin said angrily.

Arabella quickly backed off and went to stand with Sirius.

"Lily, are you ok? Can you hear me?" James asked, sitting near her and stroking her wet red hair.

Lily's eyes fluttered open. "I'm… giant… octopus…fine…" Thus saying this, her whole body went limp and fell against James in a dead faint.

"EEE!" Arabella shrieked, running towards Lily again. 

"I'm serious, we have to get her to the Hospital wing before something really bad happens to her from being in the cold!" Remus said, wringing his hands nervously.

Madame Florin whistled loudly and almost whacked Remus in the head with her broom as she ran to conjure up a stretcher. 

"I'm so sorry, Lily," James said sadly, watching her float alongside the rest of them. 

 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

_a/n; _** HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Foolish mortals! I present you with the world's greatest cliffhanger! Enjoy ripping your hair out in agony! * salutes * **


	11. Even Sirius Makes Terrible Sexual Refere...

_ A/n; _**Ok, probably the only reason two chapters were released in the same day was because… I didn't have writer's block for once in my career! So, now I'm working on chapter 11 obviously. Ooh! I saw Lord of the Rings on Saturday! MAN THAT MOVIE RULES! I must go to buy the books now considering… well… * looks nervous * I never actually read them. But I plan on writing LOTR stories when I _do _read them, so look for some 'exciting' LOTR fanfiction coming when I finish the series. Happy reading! **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Lily's eyes felt like ten-pound weights were placed on them as she tried painfully – and rather unsuccessfully – to wake up. The room she'd been resting in was almost too quiet for Hogwarts. 

"Lily?" A voice asked, echoing off the walls. Lily immediately tried to respond, but found she couldn't move her lips at all, and her limbs seemed to be plastered to wherever she was lying.

_I'm here, whoever you are! _Lily thought to herself.

James sighed and folded his hands in his lap. He'd been trying to communicate with Lily for the past forty-five minutes and she still wasn't responding.

"How's she doing?" Sirius asked tentatively, knocking on the door. James turned around with some difficulty, as the chairs were very hard and _very _plastic. 

"Not so good," James said sadly, turning back to a pale Lily.

Sirius sighed heavily as he sunk into a rather scary looking blue plastic chair he'd suspected one of the _larger _students had sat in.

"She's bound to wake up in no time, James, I know it," he said, trying to sit in a comfortable position or nearly attempting the impossible.

James stared at Sirius for a few moments, watching his friend squirm. When Sirius finally settled, defeated, Madame Blank, the nurse came teetering in on over-exaggerated white high-heels. 

"It's the chicken lady!" James hissed, ducking his head so she wouldn't hear him. Sirius cocked an eyebrow. 

"What?" He whispered fiercely back, looking confused. 

"She's the lady who took care of my bloody nose that one day… the one that I told you fancied me?" James said exasperatedly as he repeated himself.

"Geez, aren't you the modest one!" Sirius said in an undertone, rolling his eyes.

"Well it's the truth!" James hissed.

"How is Miss Evans doing? Any signs?" Madame Blank asked, her spectacles catching the sun and practically blinding Sirius. He waved his arms around trying to block out the daunting rays from her glasses and was promptly due on the floor several seconds later.

The thud on the floor must have caused a chain reaction from the ground to Lily's bed because suddenly her right arm moved and she wrinkled her face in irritation of disturbing her coma-like slumber.

James immediately leapt up in his chair, careful to step over a writhing Sirius. 

"Lily? Can you hear me? It's James," he said loudly, making sure that if she was awakening that he was heard.

"MY EYES!" Sirius yelled. He'd outgrown wriggling on the ground and was now running around the room with bad aim as he catapulted into a stack of neatly piled cotton swabs. 

"What are you trying to do? Give us all heart attacks?" James hollered, trying to catch Sirius who was now being chased by Madame Blank as well. She stepped on James' foot with her thin 6-inch heel and he suddenly stopped moving to yelp in pain. 

Lily's eyes slowly opened to havoc being wreaked in front of her bed. James was hopping up and down on one foot yelling obscenities; Sirius was running around, cleverly ducking a rather slow Madame Blank, wobbling on embellished white nurse shoes. 

"HEY! LILY'S UP!" Sirius hollered cheerfully, quickly sitting down on his previously claimed lumpy plastic chair. Madame Blank gave a shriek of surprise as she fell to the floor with some extra momentum from heaving herself towards Sirius.

"Where am I?" Lily asked weakly, looking around the room.

"Um… well, you kind of fell 50 feet in the air from your broomstick into the dark abyss of the lake. I rescued you after it threw you," James said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Lily looked at him with her eyes big. "Are you serious? A broom threw me off?" 

James looked grave. "We'll try and find the person who hexed the broom… well, we _think _someone hexed it, but we aren't sure." 

"It's ok, I mean, as long as I'm fine-" Lily started. James put a hand over her mouth suddenly.

"Trust me, Lily. We are _definitely _getting revenge on whoever did this. You nearly died!" James said, looking deep into her eyes. Lily shrunk back slightly.

"O-ok James," she stammered.

"Miss Evans! You're finally awake!" Madame Blank crowed. Her hair was rather disheveled looking and it made her look more like a rooster than a chicken. Lily almost burst into hysterics.

"See if you can move your… hips." Madame Blank said, looking at Lily expectantly. Lily looked repulsed and wondered briefly if James had set Madame Blank up to this with a trial lap dance. 

Lily slowly shifted her weight and felt immediate pressure on her ribs. She tried to move her shoulders but her ribs ached in protest. Her head whipped up to look at Madame Blank.

"What'd you do to me?" Lily shouted. 

"I didn't do anything, all I did was bind your ribcage because they looked broken." Madame Blank said innocently, looking honest. 

Lily spluttered for a few seconds, her face turning a medium red. "They _looked _broken? I can barely breathe, lady! Much less move my _hips!_" She said, flashing James a look of pure venom. James shrugged suggestively. 

"Don't be pert, young lady. Mister Black assisted." Madame Blank snapped. Lily's face turned from red to an interesting shade of pink.

"Sirius… helped? With binding… good lord!" Lily said, and fell back onto her pillows in another dead faint.

"You're joking, right?" James said, looking at Madame Blank, who was frantically trying to revive Lily.

"No, I'm quite serious! Mister Black said he'd had impeccable medical training and I let him help," she said truthfully.

"Sirius Black! Does this insane woman speak the truth?" James hollered rounding in on Sirius huddled in a corner. 

"Um… well… she shouldn't have trusted me in the first place!" He squeaked.

"I cannot _believe _you'd do something like that!" James said. He briskly stood up and grabbed Sirius by the ear and marched him outside, all the while Sirius screaming loud curses at his companion. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**Ok, short chapter. No duh. Anyway… R/R only TWO more reviews guys! **


	12. Could It Be The Beginnings of a Romance?

_A/n; _**My last chapter was way too happy. Did you notice that? It's because I told my friend Katie to ask out this boy that I liked and he said he'd tell me the next day! So I'm sitting at my computer talking to my all-time crush, Collin McCann * see reference to him in my story MST Club * and EnglishBrat at 9:25 ET, writing something up for Language Arts and waiting for answers from Katie. Happy Reading!**

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

A few weeks later, under constant scrutiny from either Madame Blank or her own friends, Lily was finally allowed to get up one morning and stiffly walk out the door of the Hospital Wing.

James and his group of Merry Men we still searching for whoever had 'hexed' Lily's broom, and she found them staying up late every night looking things up in the library.

"James, give it up. I'm not dead or anything!" Lily said, sitting in the library finishing her Potions essay late one night. 

"If we teach whoever it was that cursed your broom a lesson, the same mistake won't happen again," Remus said tiredly, plopping a particularly heavy book on the table. Dust flew up in waves and Lily sneezed several times.

James coughed a few times before swatting the dust away. He opened the book carefully, Sirius and Remus looking over his shoulder with great interest.

The pages were wrinkled and yellowing from ages of being on the shelf. Interesting words that seemed to be written in Gallic or hieroglyphics of some sort adorned the pages. 

"What the hell is that?" Sirius asked, looking at the book in confusion.

"Sirius Black, how many times do I have to tell you not to swear in front of me?" Lily exclaimed sternly. Her curiosity got the better of her, though, and she found herself sneaking glances at the book at the night wore on.

The library air soon was rid of Sirius' badmouthing and settled down as Lily continued to work and James tried to decipher what was written in the book.  

Lily had hit a particularly hard spot on her composition and looked up suddenly as if to be hit by inspiration.

James seemed to think it was ample opportunity to look up too. His eyes suddenly shifted over to Lily involuntarily. She was also looking at him, her green eyes misted over slightly. He coughed suddenly as a sort of excuse to look down and bent his head low so she wouldn't see him blush a very dark red. Lily, also blushing, looked up to make it look like she'd never stared at him to begin with. 

_What the _hell _was that, Lily? _She asked herself, blushing furiously. She noticed that even after she'd looked away, it was more embarrassing that she hadn't maintained eye contact. 

James sighed. What was going on with him and Lily? They barely knew each other and yet he felt he'd known her for years. 

Lily, pretending to have figured out what to write, instantly moved her hand to start writing. She suddenly felt immediate warmth when she noticed that, to her utmost horror, her arm was resting lightly against James'. Blushing for the third time that evening, she and James both simultaneously jerked their arms away. Face flaming, Lily picked up all of her books with shaky hands and quickly excused herself, muttering something that sounded like 'damn animal magnetism.' 

Sirius whistled in a low tone. "I can't turn my back on you two for five minutes, can I?" 

James scowled. "It wasn't anything, you twit. It was just…"

"I get it James," Remus piped up, smirking. 

"N-no you don't, it's seriously not what it looks like," James stammered, trying to conceal the truth but only blushing pink from the effort.

Sirius and Remus exchanged knowing looks.

"What'd I tell you James?  It's not good to fall for someone you just met," Sirius said smiling widely.

"You're both bonkers. I'm leaving and going to go sort out my scattered thoughts," James said rubbing his forehead.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"I hate my stupid hormones. They're making me go insane!" Lily cried, throwing the door open dramatically and flopping just as significantly on her bed. Misty raised her head up sleepily.

"What's this about hippos?" Arabella muttered rubbing her eyes and yawning.

Lily tossed her book onto the floor, resulting in a satisfying smack on the wooden floor. 

"What's wrong with you, girl?" Arabella said, giving her a goofy look.

Lily looked serene when she said calmly, "I think I like James Potter."

A faint thud could be heard echoing off the walls as Sabrina fell off of her bed. "ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?"

Lily flipped over onto her stomach, deep in thought. "He seems to like me… and he made it perfectly clear in the library." She smirked.

"What'd he do?" Misty asked earnestly, learning forward so she wouldn't miss a word Lily said.

Lily smiled dreamily. "He was staring at me… and our arms were touching and stuff…" 

Arabella and Sabrina exchanged glances. 

"That is _so _sweet Lily, he probably does!" Misty squealed.

"Come on Lily, you call _that _expressing your feelings?" Sabrina scoffed.

Lily's head jolted up, her eyes flashing. "Wouldn't you?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You haven't even been kissed yet, have you?"

Lily frowned. "I didn't think it mattered if you get kissed or not. I would've thought you of all people would know that!" 

Sabrina shrugged. "Don't bite my head off, all I'm doing is criticizing James." 

"Well don't! I don't appreciate the fact that you're criticizing the way he decides to show his emotions!" Lily said angrily.

"Lily, take a chill pill or something, because you're head's going to pop right off if you don't stop getting overheated!" Arabella said, throwing a pillow at Sabrina to temporarily delay her. 

"Maybe _James _can cool you down!" Sabrina sneered to Lily as Lily ran out the room, blinded by rage and tears of sadness.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"It looks like the end of a short-term friendship. Over a guy," Misty said sadly the next morning at breakfast. 

"Seems to me that they're both up to here," Arabella said pointing to her neck, "with fighting over him." 

Misty sighed and morosely pushed her scrambled eggs around on her plate. Was this what they were both expecting?

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!" Drawled a girl's voice. It was Sabrina, bedecked in black eyeliner and a fetching silver necklace that plunged down the low neckline of her robes. Misty and Arabella exchanged shocked looks as Sabrina sauntered towards them.

"Is _Lily _here yet?" Sabrina said in an unusual high-pitched voice.

"Are you on glue or something?" Arabella said, casting a look at Sabrina.

"No! Today is the first day James N. Potter sees the _true me, which is way better than Lily's stinky old personality," Sabrina said, flipping her black hair over her shoulder._

"Stinky old personality, eh?" Lily said, who'd just come into the Great Hall. Misty frowned nervously and tried to duck out of sight.

"That's right! And you'd better be prepared to lose James to _me, Lily!" Sabrina said, smiling confidently._

Lily smirked. "He's all yours, really."

"You guys are fighting over a guy and it's pathetic. Just admit defeat, either one of you. Or one of you could go out with Sirius or Remus…" Misty said thoughtfully.

"I refuse to go out with Sirius. He's way to perverse for my delicate virgin ears," Lily said primly, sitting next to Arabella.

"I think he's quite comical!" Misty said. 

"Comical? Since when were you a brain buff?" Lily asked confused.

"Brain buff? No way, you ladies were born to sit on the beach and tan wonderfully," Sirius said cheekily, suddenly coming over to where they were sitting.

"Hey Siri-" Lily said but was cut off when Sirius grabbed her arm practically out of her socket and dragged her literally halfway across the castle back to Gryffindor.

"Where are you taking me, you big Neanderthal?!" Lily shouted in his ear as he led her up the staircase to the 1st Year boy's dorm. 

"YOU IDIOT! I'M NOT GOING IN _THERE!" she hollered at him, trying in vain to twist out of his strong grip. _

"Lily, there's nothing in there you probably haven't seen… I hope," Sirius said nervously. He twiddled the doorknob but it was locked.

"James, open up. I have Lily right here so cool your jets," Sirius said eagerly. 

"Ooh but James doesn't want to cool his jets when he's with _LIIIIIIIIIILLLLLYYYYY, he just wants to __heat up!" Remus could be heard through the door, laughing madly._

"Agh! I cannot work with you two! You're _impossible!" James cried in frustration. Lily tried desperately to control her flourishing blush._

 "Just open the door and we won't have to tease you about your passionate infatuation with Miss Evans," Sirius said, grinning as the door slowly swung open.

Lily, who'd had her eyes shut in case of unexpected flesh exposure, opened her eyes gradually when she was sure everyone in the dorm was fairly covered up.

"Goodness Lily dear, you're shoulders are so tense they'd not move if an earthquake were to overtake Hogwarts! Please, do sit down," Sirius said, flourishing into a bow. 

Lily smiled slightly and shyly and sat down on the nearest bed. 

"James, put on a shirt or pants or whatever item of clothing you happen to be missing because Lily's here," Remus said sternly poking a lump on the bed next to where Lily was sitting.

"I'm _trying to find something to wear but it's kind of difficult!" James said his voice muffled and strangely choked._

"What he means is that Lily really wouldn't care what James was wearing anyway," Sirius cracked.

James sighed loudly and pointedly and pulled the covers off. To Lily's relief, he was wearing slacks and a short-sleeved shirt.

"Well, good morning everyone!" she said sarcastically.

"You'll be back in the Great Hall eating and chatting about us once we explain what we've discovered," James said.

"What makes you think we were talking about-" 

"Totally irrelevant," James snapped, "anyway, last night we were in the library… as you know-"

"Yeah, and James was totally trying to, like, hit on you!" Sirius said loudly, mocking the way some girls at Hogwarts talked.

Remus threw a pillow at him. "Continue, please."

James cleared his throat pointedly. "_Anyway, after you left we saw Lucius Malfoy and his little rat friend- what's his name again?"_

"Severus Snape?" Lily offered. 

James wrinkled his nose, "Eurgh, how can you even _remember that scumbag's name?" _

"What makes him so bad? He's nice to me, and just because he hangs out with Lucius doesn't mean he's evil!" Lily retorted. She was starting to think that the whole situation was starting to smell fishy.

"He hangs out with Lucius _Malfoy. He has to be bad. Period," Sirius said rationally._

Lily shrugged when out of the blue Remus asked, "Lily's still looking a bit tense, James. Why don't you offer her a back massage or something?"

Sirius suddenly started laughing and high-fived Remus while James looked at them murderously. 

"May I _please _continue my story before one of you is drowning in your own puddle of blood?" he asked through clenched teeth.

Remus gulped. "It was all in good fun, James, don't need to get touchy."

Lily grinned weakly and tried to relax.

"ANY BLOODY WAY! They were both talking in low voices and we all went to go investigate," James said, a bit peeved. 

"Yeah, we heard them say stuff about how they couldn't believe how well their plan worked to throw you off the broom," Remus said seriously.

Lily buried her face in her hands. "How did I _know _it was some person I'd made an enemy of?"

"Because that's usually who it is?" Sirius suggested.

Lily glared at him from the cracks between her fingers. 

"And then they said I was an utter moron for going after her!" James cried indignantly. 

"That's not denying the truth _exactly_," Sirius said truthfully.

"What was I supposed to do? Let my friend drown?" James asked acidly. 

"I wouldn't have appreciated it much you know!" Lily snapped.

"We want to ask for your permission to get revenge on those two weasels, is all," Remus said before a fistfight could break out.

"Oh, you guys, I don't know about revenge…" Lily said uneasily.

"Do you want James to kiss you?" Sirius asked pointedly.

"Revenge sounds good!" Lily said quickly.

All three boys grinned widely at each other.

"But don't mention my name if you should get in trouble!" Lily said warningly.

"Cross my heart and hope to die, Miss Evans!" Sirius said.

Lily smiled and got up off the bed, heading for the door. _They may all be crazy and too sarcastic for their own good but their hearts are in the right place, _Lily thought happily as she closed the door behind her.

"Did you just promise Lily I'd kiss her?" Lily heard James ask.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

_a/n; (continued)_ **Ok, there was chapter 12 and if you hadn't noticed, Lily and James are… well… diggin' each other! WOO! But will it stay that way…? **


	13. PrePrank

_A/n; _**Forget what I said about being happy. Turns out this whole dating thing was a HUGE mistake and I don't, to be quite truthful, like the guy I've gone out with for the past probably 49 hours. It's awful, I tell you! EnglishBrat has given consoling ways to break up with him, and so has my friend Neera but she said not to dump him immediately because I should get to know him. So, I don't know what to do. Any advice you'd like to give me (trust me, I'll love you forever if I can get out of this situation) please either email me or put it in the review that you're * hopefully * writing for this chapter and/or story. Thanks, Happy Reading!**

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"So basically, we're just going to publicly humiliate both of them tomorrow at breakfast?" James asked tiredly after many, _many _hours of brainstorming late one night.

"Um… yes," Remus said, screwing up his face in concentration.

Sirius yawned sleepily. "Ok, after writing down all the advanced charms I could find, I think we're readily able to face expulsion if we get caught."

"We're not going to get caught though, Sirius," James lectured him. 

"This is really starting to sound bad. Lily could get blamed for having a part in this and she could get expelled!" Remus said, wringing his hands nervously.

"How ironic. You don't seem to like Lily the way I thought you did. Any explanation you'd like to give?" James asked, grinning evilly.

Remus stuck his tongue out. "I don't mean it that way, Mr. I-Tell-My-Friends-I-Don't-Like-Her-When-I'm-Actually-Passionately-In-Love-With-Her!"

"Love's a strong word!" James protested.

"And _strangely _it seems to suit you, James," Sirius said, grinning.

"What seems to suit him? Sirius, I've got that final draft on that project in History of Magic," Lily called from the other side of the boy's dorm. 

"Ooh, I smell top marks!" Sirius said happily, throwing open the door.

"Does this mean I can come in and see how the pranking process goes?" Lily asked eagerly.

James snatched the paper they'd been writing on and hugged it protectively to his chest. "We've still got a few kinks to work out… come tomorrow when we've got it all planned."

"Aw, Jamsie you're absolutely no fun!" Lily exclaimed dramatically, putting her hands on her hips. She sat down on James' bed next to him.

"Don't call me Jamsie! My auntie calls me that, remember?" James hissed.

"Auntie Mildred you mean? She's cool! She gave me one of those really neat Sneakoscope things…it makes noises," Remus chirped.

"Auntie Mildred always drinks too much," Sirius replied.

"Auntie Mildred is just plain _weird. _She always pinches my face and tells me how I'm going to break a lot of girl's hearts," James said matter-of-factly.

"More like break mirrors…" Sirius muttered. James whacked him with his pillow.

"Uh oh. Footsteps…" Lily warned, putting on an innocent face for the newcomer.

James quickly shoved the paper under his pillow and crossed his legs peacefully. 

"What're we going to do about the girl?" Sirius asked urgently. Lily scowled at the lack of first names in that sentence.

"Excuse me, Mr. Impertinence, I'll let myself out!" she said huffily, and started to get up when James and Remus both tackled her and closed the hangings around his bed.

"Don't say _anything!_" James hissed, covering her mouth with his hand. 

"Hello? Is anyone in here?" piped a male's voice. 

Sirius groaned loudly. "Not _him!_" 

"Just… Remus go out there and tell him to go away. We're busy doing homework," James said exasperatedly, trying to avoid Lily's attempted bites.

Remus shot James a dirty look but reluctantly clambered out of bed and went to go talk to the voice. 

"Hey Pete! What's up?" Lily could hear Remus talking over-cheerfully to who she suspected was Peter Pettigrew. 

"H-hey Remus! Where's James and Sirius?" he squeaked.

"Out. Doing homework or wreaking havoc on the four corners of the earth, I suppose," Remus remarked with a twinge of annoyance in his voice.

James and Sirius erupted in quiet laughter, as well as Lily all though it was quite difficult to breathe with James' hand pressing down a bit too hard on her mouth.

"Who's in _there _then?" Peter inquired.

"_Shit," _James whispered letting go of Lily. She instantly crawled over to the other end of the bed.

"That's… Tanner and… Kylie… they're… kissing… a lot in there," Remus replied lamely, fidgeting..

"That's James' bed though!" Peter squawked, inching closer to the bed.

"There's nothing wrong with changing scenery every few hours!" Remus exclaimed, his nerve wearing down to the bare bone.

"On my signal we all run screaming like maniacs all the way down the Hogwarts corridors until we get to the Great Hall. Understood?" Sirius whispered.

James elbowed him sharply in the gut, earning a winded grunt from Sirius who doubled over.

"You're an _idiot_ Sirius, but the plan works considering… our circumstances," Lily whispered sharply.

"One…" James said, rolling his eyes.

"What's that sound?" Peter asked.

"Two…" Lily said grinning.

"Not sure… they're probably just muttering nonsense as they kiss each other silly," Remus said sketchily.

"THREEEEEEEEEEE!" Sirius hollered. Immediately all three of them bolted out of James' bed shrieking like they'd seen a ghost. Lily tripped over James and James tripped over Sirius as he opened the door and they all tumbled down the stairs into a heap on the floor. There was silence for a few seconds and then they all burst into noisy laughter.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Eurrgh. My head seriously hurts. Can I get up to circulate blood into it?" Lily whined. She didn't know how long she, Sirius and James had been lying in a crumpled heap on the floor, with her head resting on James' stomach and him fingering her long curls. 

"People are going to be getting the wrong impression," James admitted.

"I thought that Remus was going to have a heart attack when I tripped over James," Lily said laughing quietly.

Sirius suddenly propped himself up on his elbows and cocked his head to one side to glance at Lily and James. "I'm getting the wrong impression right now, guys."

Lily immediately snapped her head up and finding herself instantly missing the rhythmic beating of James' heart.

"I have to go anyway. Arabella wants me to come help her order some new robes from Teen Witch," Lily said hastily.

"How simply _fascinating_," said Sirius sarcastically.

"It's not like _I'm _getting anything, I'm just helping!" Lily said tartly, getting up and dusting herself off.

"We'll tell you the full details of the prank tomorrow, ok?" James promised her. Lily smiled and nodded.

"You are so floating on Cloud 9. What happened?" Arabella remarked as Lily hummed to herself in their dorm.

Lily suddenly snapped out of her trance with a little shake of her head. "I'm sorry, Arabella, what?" 

Arabella exhaled loudly making some of the loose strands of her hair blow straight up. "It's not really that important Lily. You've just kind of drifted away after you started hanging around with Sabrina's crush."

"I couldn't care less if he was Sabrina's ex!" Lily scoffed.

Arabella shrugged. "We're just_ eleven_, Lily. We've got the rest of our lives to figure out boys."

"Did I say that I was making a decision about _anything?_" Lily snapped.

"Don't bite my head off Lily like I confronted you about having sex with anyone!" Arabella said loudly.

Lily shot a repulsed look at Arabella who clamped her hands over her mouth looking quite wide-eyed. "I didn't mean that!"

"No, of course you didn't," Lily said sarcastically.

"You have to admit you like him Lily, or else face dire consequences!" Arabella said, pointing what she thought was a threatening finger at her. 

"Oh, no Arabella! Whatever will you do? Tie me up to a chair and make me watch soaps?" Lily said, mocking a knife going through her heart and falling backwards onto her bed.

"Soaps? You mean like a bubble bath?" Arabella asked confused.

"Soaps are a thing that sniveling older sisters watch to make themselves look cool. They're a muggle television show comprised of pointless, numerous plots that have lots of twists and turns but eventually end up nowhere and lots of people die for no reason," Lily explained.

"I love pointless stuff! It's the only thing I ever read!" Arabella exclaimed excitedly and brandished a dog-eared copy of a cheesy romance novel. 

Lily hit her forehead lightly with the heel of her hand and muttered something that sounded like 'oy vay.'

"Busty brunettes with simple petty problems about choosing which handsome guy not your thing Lily?" Arabella asked sardonically. 

"Blasphemy!" Lily cried. 

"I refuse to call it blasphemy. I like to consider it disliking posh literature," Arabella said thoughtfully.

"Are you always this spacey?" Lily asked her.

"I should think so. My mother says if I don't make up my mind about my personality she's going to put a sign on my door that says 'Caution: Schizophrenic Zone,'" Arabella said grinning broadly.

"I'd say you already _do _qualify as a schizophrenic already dear," Lily teased.

"TA DAAAAA! We finally came back!" Misty said bursting through the doorway with Sabrina close in tow.

"Gosh where'd you guys go to?" Lily asked checking the clock beside her nightstand. It read 10:30 PM.

"Out watching the Quidditch practices! We have got _such _cute boys on our team!" Sabrina said, sighing dreamily.

"You know, I really don't understand how anyone could be that obsessed with boys," Arabella said pointedly. 

"Grandmother and Grandfather didn't like me socializing with boys. Grandmother said they would teach me bad things about how they viewed things." Sabrina said calmly gazing off into space.

"So? I went to an all-girls school until I turned eleven!" Lily exclaimed.

"But you guys don't understand! My best friend before my parents shipped me off to the countryside was a boy… his name was Ian Mitchell…" Sabrina finished off her sentence with a sad note in her voice.

"We completely understand, Sabrina. We've all been taken from our homes to live here," Lily said quietly.

Misty and Arabella nodded. 

"But we can be your temporary and possibly be your family forever here at Hogwarts. What are friends for, anyway?" Lily asked, grinning.

"Um… letting them go to sleep? I hear if you don't get at least six hours of sleep each night you suffer in your schoolwork!" Misty exclaimed with a full-face mask on.

"No Teen Witch magazines for you for a day!" Arabella proclaimed and snatched the newest edition off of Misty's nightstand. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 


	14. NEW! The Prank and it's Consequences

_A/n: _** * sighs * I am _so _bored! I have nothing to do. I'm dead serious. And I've practically read every single story on the Harry Potter fanfiction section! Now I'm going to go make some cartoon dolls of random people and myself… **

**Update: I LOVE imlosnoches! This person was my 80th reviewer! Thank you, imlosnoches! **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Lily quickly pulled on her white knee socks and black shoes before running to meet the rest of her friends who'd already made their way down to the Great Hall. She wasn't about to miss what prank James and his group had come up with all because she slept a little late!

"ARABELLA! WAIT UP!" she hollered after she scrambled out of the portrait hole. She saw Arabella, Sabrina and Misty walking quite a ways ahead of her. She ran to catch up with them, yelling all the way.

"What happened to you?" Sabrina asked, casting a judgmental look over Lily. Her red hair was disheveled and sticking up on one side, her wand was between her teeth, her skirt was rumpled and looked as though she'd slept in it and her robe slung over her shoulder.

Lily grinned devilishly and flicked a piece of hair into her face so she looked even sloppier and continued to walk towards the Great Hall.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Misty called. Lily ignored her and broke into a little jog while pulling her robes on and buttoning them over her scruffy uniform. 

"PSSSSSST! Lily!" Sirius hissed, dragging her into an empty classroom. 

"Morning, Sirius!" she chirped happily. 

"Yeah, yeah. Good morning yourself, Miss Evans. Where's James?" Sirius asked impatiently.

"How should I know? I'm not his bloody nursemaid!" Lily snapped.

 "Look he's the one with all the prank goodies and he isn't in the Great Hall yet!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Aw, rats! And I wanted to see the prank!" Lily said, stomping her foot for emphasis.

"Tell me about it. Perhaps we should remind him of his tardiness incident with Mrs. Norris sometime." Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"That stupid cat. I'd love to give her a good swift kick in the-" Lily started but James jumped on Sirius' back and tackled him to the ground.

"JAMES! YOU CAME!" Lily shouted with glee.

"Yeah, like I'd miss pulling a trick on Lucius and Snape!" James said sarcastically, ruffling Lily's already-messy hair.

"What'd you do? Sleep in a closet or something?" he continued. 

"Like you care. I just slept a bit later than usual," Lily said airily.

"Ok, ok. No bickering please," Sirius said and turned to James, "Where're the goods?" 

James reached into his pocket and produced his wand. 

Sirius stared at him expectantly. "…And where's the rest of it?"

"That's it! I told you I spent half the night searching through advanced spell books!" James said truthfully.

Sirius' face fell. "Well if you're sure-"

"It'll be good Sirius. Revenge has never tasted sweeter." James said finitely.

Lily grinned. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Lily drummed her fingers nervously on the tabletops and swung her feet back and forth.

Arabella sighed loudly and set down her fork with an elaborated movement. "Is that what you _always _do to pass the time? Or am I hallucinating and you're just _extremely _jumpy today?" 

"Do you have to talk? I need to pay attention to James," Lily said distractedly.

"You _need _to?" Arabella asked smirking.

Lily sighed exasperatedly. "YES! OK? YES! I _need_ to pay attention to James!" 

"We didn't have any homework for Care of Magical Creatures except to finish that animal chart, right?" 

"Right," Lily said, again distracted as James got up looking rather nervous. He turned around to look at her and she flashed him a 100-watt confidence-inducing smile and a thumbs up in his direction.

"What? What am I missing something here?" Arabella asked looking around wildly.

"SHHHH!" Lily hissed at her. The whole room, to add to Lily, Sirius's, Remus's and James' paranoia, seemed to grow increasingly quiet. James strode over to the Slytherin table where Lucius Malfoy and his partner in crime Severus Snape were sitting, discussing potions.

"What do _you _want, Potter?" Severus sneered, looking at James in disgust.

"Nothing! Just came to see how my fine Slytherin friends are doing on this _mah-_velous Friday morning," James said smiling, twirling his wand in his fingers.

That comment brought the previous din in the Great Hall to an astounding silence. Lily hit her forehead with the palm of her hand and groaned.

"_Just make your flippin'  move, Potter!_" she hissed to herself.

"If you've got a point to make, I suggest you make it so I needn't waste my time with you any longer!" Severus jeered, his upper lip curling into what would be known later as his infamous sneer.

"Can't a mate just ask him how his buddies are doing?" James asked acting outraged. He turned his back to the Slytherins to look at all of the people in the Great Hall. He made a big deal out of Severus's statement by explaining how wrong it was to degrade someone else. Lily didn't know if she wanted to walk up to him and slap him or curse the Slytherins herself.

Suddenly, Sirius threw a Gobstone marble piece he'd probably fetched off his dresser earlier that morning in case James chickened out. It sailed through the air and clanked off in the direction of the Ravenclaws, the exact opposite direction of the Slytherin's table. 

"What the-" Lucius said turning around.

"_Transfernio Greecius!_" James yelled and instantly Lucius's pale platinum-blond hair was turned a sickening puke-green color and was growing rapidly to his knees, identical to Severus'.

The entire Great Hall immediately burst out laughing, Lily and Sirius the heartiest of them all. 

All of the sudden the new stern-faced professor, Professor McGonagall, swept upon James like a hawk on its prey. 

"James Orion Potter!" She snapped. James gulped and slowly wheeled around. The laughter died down again and the Hall became so silent a pin could be dropped and it'd be heard. 

"Yes Professor?" James asked trying to stay calm even if he couldn't keep the shake out of his voice.

"I do not know where you got that spell Mister Potter, but I can assure you it will not be used again on another student! Do I make myself clear?" She asked, not bothering to control the rage in her voice.

"Yes Professor," James said obediently. Relief washed over him briefly as he realized he was just being told off and not punished. 

"I'll see what Professor Dumbledore wants you to do as a punishment," she continued briskly. She grabbed him by the ear rather harshly and dragged him out of the Great Hall, his yelp filling the air the whole way. Lily thought her eyes would roll out of their sockets in shock.

"What was _that_?" Arabella exclaimed, closing her dropped jaw.

Lily shook her head as the Great Hall slowly broke out into conversation again. "That, my friend, was the start of something that promises to be a legacy." 

Arabella whacked Lily with her book. "Silly! It's only a harmless prank!"

"I have a feeling we'll have more entertainment from them in the near future," Lily said grinning. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**A/N: Short I know! I'm running low on sugar! * grins * **


	15. Ode to Summer Vacation sorta

_ A/n; _**I'm debating with myself whether or not to write out the entire first year and skip to third year or just write the years out step-by-step. It's so hard! Happy Reading! P.S. – Elijah Wood is hot :-D **

**Sorry to my beta reader and to the fans for a) the wait and b) The Elijah Wood reference! * cackles * **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Before Lily could believe it, the first year at Hogwarts was over. She and her other roommates were packing their things into trunks the night before they all had to board the Hogwarts Express and go home. For her, it meant facing problems that had gradually grown over the past few years. Not least of these was the "breaking out of her house in the middle of the night and sneaking out only to fly to Kings Cross with Danny" fiasco. 

"Lily! Are you paying attention?" Arabella hollered across the room. Lily snapped out of her depressed thoughts and tossed a few more rolls of socks into her trunk. 

"I'm listening, honestly. What were you saying?" Lily asked, ready to tune her out again.

"Are you going to James' house over the summer at all? I'm sure he'd be ecstatic if you did," Arabella said with an exaggerated wink. 

Lily rolled her eyes. Secretly she'd enjoy it more than she could express if James invited her over for the summer. Lily imagined her stretched out on a lawn chair with Sirius and James and Arabella sipping lemonades then swimming until the sun went down. After that, right before they went to bed, Lily and James would-

"LILY! ARE YOU PAYING ANY ATTENTION, GIRL?" Arabella yelled again. Irritated that her daydream had ended abruptly Lily threw a pillow at Arabella. 

"I'm listening! I'm just really distracted!" she snapped and threw her Muggle clothes into the trunk.

"About what?" Arabella, suddenly interested, asked.

"Are you talking about going to James' house this summer? I hope I get to go!" Misty said excitedly, barging into the room on her own usual bad timing.

Lily smiled guiltily. "I hope so, too."

"Where's Sabby?" Lily asked, remembering Sabrina's detested nickname.

"Saying goodbye to all of the fifth year Ravenclaw boys, no doubt," Misty said dryly. She picked nonchalantly at her nail polish and cast a bitter look at the other two.    

Lily directed a weary sidelong glance towards Arabella, who shrugged and tossed three packs of mint chewing gum into her purse.

"Oh shoot! I forgot I lent James my Remembrall for when he packed! I should get that back…" Lily said, snapping her fingers. "Be back in a minute!" she called over her shoulder before sauntering out the door.

She slid down the staircase (one of the many mannerisms frowned upon in the Gryffindor House) and ran up to the boy's dorm room. 

"James! Are you in there?" she asked urgently. 

She heard the shuffling of feet and a few seconds later James poked his head around the door. "Lily? What are you doing here?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I need my Remembrall back. I'm afraid I'll forget something."

James grinned and tossed it into her hands. "Already knew you'd be coming for it. I've finished packing already, how about you?"

Lily's jaw dropped in shock. "You-you finished something early?" 

"Really now! That's not fair… I just want to get out of here and go home and play Quidditch all day," James said, sounding offended.

"I didn't mean it like that! I just meant… wow, you finished something early instead of procrastinating," Lily said defensively.

"I know what you mean Lils." James smiled and ruffled her hair. She scowled and tried to flatten it before punching him lightly in the shoulder.

"So – what are you doing for the summer?" James continued talking slowly and carefully as though he'd planned this situation to come up.

Lily stopped smiling slightly as his question caught her off guard. "Nothing, actually. Although I don't intend to spend the summer with my dreadful family. So if you're inviting me to spend some of that dreadful family time with you I'd be most obliged to say yes." 

It was James's turn to be speechless. "You knew I was going to ask you that, didn't you? Has Arabella got spies everywhere?"

Lily shrugged. "Friends invite friends over to their houses. I guess I felt we were on friendly terms."

James chuckled. "So is that a yes?"

Lily nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes! I'd love to!" and with a little nod of her head and a half-smile she turned and went back downstairs to the girl's dorm.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"So long, Hogwarts! Goodbye to tacky uniforms and hello to babes in bikinis!" Sirius yelled out the window. Professor McGonagall, who had stood at the platform to see all the students off, gave him a stern look. Sirius gulped and stuck his head back into the train.

Sabrina and Misty couldn't be found anywhere on the busy train so Remus guessed they were probably hanging out with some of the drug addicted hippies that were at Hogwarts. 

"Remus that's an awful thing to say!" Lily chided him.

"What? It's true!" Remus exclaimed.

"Who's betting Sabrina gets kicked out by our fourth year?" Arabella chimed in over the top of her Teen Witch magazine. 

Lily turned around in her seat. "Not you too! Look, she might be a bit of a…-"

"Slut?"

"Hooker?"

"Bitch?"  

"Look, she's my friend, ok? And she's one of the only friends I've ever had! So if you're going to completely cuss her out please don't do it while I'm around," Lily said hotly. She slouched way back into her seat and crossed her arms.

"So anyway, who's going to James' house?" Sirius asked happily, in the brainless manner he often had. He stretched across the seat Arabella was sitting on with his feet on her lap. With a disgruntled sigh and a roll of her eyes she shoved Sirius off and he landed in a heap on the floor.

"I am! I am! Ooh Siri pick me!" Lily said in an annoying voice. 

"You are, are you? Have I mentioned-" Sirius started but was distracted by the sudden telltale swooshing sound of the opening of the compartment door. 

James entered along with two other boys: Troy McFadden and Greg Davis, two of the most sought-after boys at Hogwarts. Troy was the captain of the Ravenclaw team and in his fifth year at Hogwarts and Greg was the Seeker of the Gryffindor team, also in his fifth year. Troy was your average golden boy: cropped blonde hair (A/N: think Elijah Wood in Flipper but with blonde hair and abs * laughs *) and intense hazel eyes. Greg was a bit shorter than Troy but still had the same athletic build with near-shaved brown hair and watery blue eyes. Lily had seen Sabrina and Misty hang out with them while the rest of the group packed together at Quidditch games.

"Oh, hey you guys! I didn't realize you were in here…" James trailed off. He looked at Troy and Greg uneasily and all they did was shrug and turn to leave. 

"Where you guys going? There's room in this compartment!" Sirius said loudly and awkwardly. 

All Lily could do was gaze from Troy to Greg. She couldn't believe James was hanging out with them. Why would they be hanging around with a lowly first year?

"O-oh, ok Siri. Thanks," James said shiftily and sat down next to him.

"James, you going to introduce us to your friends or what?" Troy asked grinning. Lily could feel her heart beating faster as his deep gaze trailed to her. 

"Yeah, don't leave us hanging dude!" Greg said lightheartedly. 

"Greg, Troy, these are my friends: Lily, Sirius, Remus and Arabella," James said nodding to each one of them.

"Lily? That's a pretty name," Troy said smiling warmly in her direction. Lily felt her eyes glazing over as she melted like butter on a hot day. She was surprised her body was still intact, instead of a puddle on the floor.

"She says thank you. Her eyes glazing over means she's thinking," Sirius said after a few awkward seconds and waving his hand in front of her face. She snapped out of it and grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand out of her face. 

"So what brings you guys to the slums of the Hogwarts Express?" Remus piped up.

"Slums? The back of the train is always where the girls are!" Greg replied, slightly confused.

"Right. We were just wondering… what you were doing with James…" Sirius trailed off, hoping he hadn't said the wrong thing, as he'd been famous for doing that.

"James is our pal, man! Our future Seeker!" Troy said enthusiastically. 

"Future Seeker? Really? Have you seen him on a broom?" Sirius cried incredulously. 

Arabella punched him in the arm to keep him from saying the wrong thing. 

"Yeah, he's amazing isn't he?" Greg asked.

Lily exchanged looks with Remus and Arabella. 

"Well we think he's brilliant. He's going to the pros, I'll bet you," Troy said confidently. 

"We're spending the summer with him," Lily's heart sank suddenly. She wasn't spending the summer with James and her friends? "We're going to help him train for next year. The both of us want to see him on a Quidditch team."

"James…? A word, if you please," Sirius said his face turning rather red. Lily guessed it meant trouble and decided to keep her mouth shut. 

"Sure Sirius. What about?" James asked perfectly naturally. If he was uneasy about the circumstances he didn't show it.

"Excuse me, I have to go discuss something with my colleague." Sirius said stiffly and yanked James out the compartment by his collar.

"You're spending the summer with James?" Arabella said softly, her brown eyes big and questioning. 

"Yeah, how come?" Greg asked. 

"… Well, we are too. James never mentioned anything about two of Hogwarts' most prestigious Quidditch players coming to reside with us," Arabella cooed. Lily had to refrain from blanching. Going about flattering people with an ooey-gooey voice sickened her almost as much as her family. 

Greg and Troy's chests both seemed to swell with pride. 

"Thank you… Miss-?" Greg asked questioning Arabella to finish the sentence.

"Figg. Arabella Figg. But you can just call me Bella, everyone else does," Arabella said, batting her eyelashes suggestively.

And if there was another thing Lily couldn't stand, it was being overly sweet. 

"Is Lily staying too?" Greg asked turning his gaze to her.

"Of course, you twit!" Arabella snapped, trying to get his attention back on her. 

Greg looked startled. Arabella quickly regained her composure, smiled sweetly and the checked her tone. "I mean, of _course _she is… honey!"

Lily felt the impulse to run and barf. Instead she smiled at the two boys.

Just then, Sirius and James came back. Sirius looked oddly satisfied, as though he'd used his childhood friend for a punching bag. James on the other hand looked quite disgruntled and his glasses were at an odd angle. 

"If you guys wouldn't mind… we'd like to be alone for a little bit. As you can see, my friends haven't quite gotten it all together yet," James said uncomfortably. Sirius pressed his foot on James', causing James' face to turn red and for him to bite his lip extremely hard.

"Yeah, so if you wouldn't mind getting your butts out of our compartment we'll be sure to catch up to you when the train stops," Sirius said sounding forceful. 

Troy and Greg exchanged looks but got up and slinked out of the compartment. As soon as the door shut Sirius, Arabella and Lily all tackled James.

"YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU INVITE THEM OVER WITHOUT TELLING US?" Sirius hollered, trying to take a swing at James.

"I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST US! TROY'S BEEN GIVING ME WEIRD LOOKS!" Lily yelled as well.

"GREG IS SO HOT! GOD, THANK YOU JAMES!" Arabella said hugging James tightly.

Remus stood surveying the scene. Sirius and Lily both had their hands wrapped around James' neck and Arabella was yelling praises while hugging him. He whistled through his teeth, calling for silence.

"Ok, as much as I'd love to see James hang right now we can't act like Neanderthals," Remus said with an amused sparkle in his eye.

"And why the _hell _not, Remus?" Sirius asked not releasing his grip on James. 

"Because… we just can't. That's why!" Remus said.

"Well we should at least give him the cold shoulder for not telling us Mr. Popular 1 and Mr. Popular 2 were going to be spending the summer with us!" Lily said still seething.

"I'm sorry," choked James, "but I thought you guys would be happy and as the phrase goes 'the more the merrier!'"

"And there's another saying called… um… 'Thou shalt not…lie to thou… friends! Yeah, that's it," Sirius said defiantly.

Lily, Arabella and Remus all looked at him. 

Sirius smiled wolfishly. "Isn't someone going to agree with me?"

A resounding 'no' echoed in the compartment.

Sirius looked very put out and Lily slowly loosened her grip on James, for Sirius had ruined the moment of strangling someone.

"So what're we going to do now?" Arabella asked quietly, getting out her latest Witch Weekly.

"Ask dear James," Remus said.

"I honestly didn't know it would be that big of a deal! I thought maybe Lily and Arabella would amuse themselves with Troy and Greg we could play Quidditch and stuff," James exclaimed.

Lily immediately stood up in anger. "You're just trying to get rid of us! How dare you! I thought we were friends!" 

"You, James Potter, are an insensitive little brat!" Arabella said and stormed out of the compartment with Lily.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**A/N: Uh-oh. Trouble's starting and summer hasn't even started yet. Again, sorry about the delayed chapter!**


	16. The Name Game Begins and They're Off To ...

_A/n; _**WOOOOOOOOOOORD! 100 FLIPPING REVIEWS! * does a happy dance * WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD! Woo I'm really happy right now. This almost beats my happy attack when I saw Elijah on the TV! Almost… :-D I'm just kidding I love all of my reviewers and sooner or later I'm going to put this huge list of reviewers to thank. But I'm too lazy now so just enjoy chapter 16. TOOTLES! * dances off * **

**And they _are _mature for eleven-year-olds, aren't they? That can be changed…**

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Stalking around the train fuming, Lily and Arabella settled down into seats halfway back to King's Cross Station. 

"What an idiot," Arabella said angrily, kicking the seat in front of her. 

"What a complete – insensitive jerk!" Lily exclaimed passionately, throwing her hands up. 

"So what do we do now?" Arabella asked and rather calmly smacked her chewing gum. 

"We've got to go _somewhere_ because there's no way that I'm going back to my house!" Lily said pointedly. 

Arabella nodded offhandedly. "Right, right. Not back there."

Lily nodded as well, stretching out on the seat to work out the cramps in her back. "I hate James so much now, but I guess we have to go back sooner or later!" 

Arabella sighed and started to get up. "Just don't talk to him or anything."

"Gee Arabella, that's a _grand _idea," Lily said. Arabella beamed, missing the sarcasm in Lily's voice. " - except we have to spend the entire summer with him!" 

Arabella appeared crestfallen. "Oh right. Yeah, I knew that!" 

Lily rolled her eyes. "For someone so smart, you sure can't think of a solution to anything."

"Quiet Lily!" Arabella shot back. 

 "I was _just _kidding! Now, come on, we've got to go straighten this whole thing out!" Lily said and dragged Arabella through the crowds of eager students waiting to go home back to the compartment. 

Lily shoved Arabella into the compartment and Lily heard her shuffling around. Eventually, though, her ears met the sound of a disgruntled 'Hello James' from Arabella. Lily slowly opened the compartment door and slid it shut. Turning around to face everyone in the compartment, she found the back of her robes to be caught in the door. She blinked a few times and tried to turn around but it proved to be useless as her hands were stuck behind her back as well. 

"I'm quite stuck here, you cretins! A little help?" she shouted at them. Remus jumped up to help a struggling Lily from her bonds. She flashed a grateful smile to him and sat down next to Arabella. Sirius and James sat nonchalantly flicking Exploding Snap cards at each other in the front of the compartment. A card exploded near Sirius's feet and the carpet got singed. 

"So, Evans, you decided to come back?" James asked lazily from the front seat. 

Lily opened her mouth indignantly. "Since when, _Potter, have been on last name calling terms?" _

"Since now because I feel like it," James retorted. 

Lily sighed loudly. "That's ridiculous! I _had to come back here: all of my things are here and I've got friends in this compartment, so don't flatter yourself by thinking I came back to see __you!" _

 "I won't waste my time because I _know I don't want to see you!" James shot back resentfully. _

"Guys, guys! Er… ladies – people! Let's all discuss this in a calm, rational – " 

But before Sirius could finish what was likely the only sane statement he'd ever make in his life, Lily had stood up and slowly maneuvered her way into standing in the aisle with her hands on her hips. James saw her stand up and moved to where he could see her with his wand in his hand. 

"Potter – I swear, you aggravate me _so much!" Lily said angrily. _

James narrowed his eyes, staring straight at her. "I'd watch what you say to me Evans, I've got a wand!"

Lily pulled her wand out from the pocket of her robes. "Wow! Good job Potter! So do I." 

Sirius cackled. "James, I think she's got you there!"

"Would you like to eat your shoe?" James snarled at Sirius. 

"Depends on what flavor it is!" Sirius remarked with a smirk, trying James's patience. 

"Asphalt flavored with a touch of Sirius's brain," James said with an evil smile as he pointed his wand at him. 

Sirius gulped and scooted backwards. "No need to get touchy Jamsie! I know it's that time of the month." 

James scowled as Lily took the perfect opportunity to stride up to James and socked him in the jaw. The entire compartment went dead silent except for James's vehement exclamation and Sirius's rather loud string of swears. 

"Holy shit Evans! Where in the world did you learn to hit like that?" James asked in awe, massaging his jaw. 

"You pick up a few things when you have to deal with ignorant people like _you," Lily hissed in a seething voice._

"You are going to pay for that so badly," James said in a deadly voice, "just wait until you're not protected by Hogwarts authority!" 

"Yeah Lily, he's going to get you _aloooooooooooooooooone!" Remus piped up in a mocking voice._

"Oh, shut up!" Lily said aggravated, her cheeks turning pink. 

"Is your jaw broken, James?" Arabella asked in a simpering manner. 

James suddenly winced as he touched the side of it. "I think it'll have a bruise, but I'm ok." He put on a tragically heroic face.

"Oh for the love of – Potter, you're such a faker!" Lily shouted angrily. James smirked at her. 

"Here, lets go find something cold to put on your poor jaw," Arabella said sympathetically. Lily's jaw dropped about three feet as Arabella took James's hand and they walked out of the compartment together. 

"What… what just happened here?" Lily asked dumbfounded. 

Sirius whistled and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Maybe she's being hospitable!" __

Lily snorted and put her wand away. "And maybe I'm the Queen of the moon!" 

"Maybe you are," Sirius said cocking an eyebrow in mock suspicion. 

Lily laughed and swatted his arm playfully. "Maybe I am. But you'll never know!" 

Sirius gave a loud evil-sounding cackle. "Oh, won't I?" 

"Nope. Never, not on your life!" Lily replied. 

"Care for a game of Exploding Snap against the master?" Sirius asked, bowing majestically. 

Lily found it appropriate to kick him in the shin but refrained from doing so since it would've been hogging his glory moment. "Why would I refuse to play against the master?" 

"Let Remus play too, he's pretty good… but not as good as me," Sirius said pretending to think it over. 

"Mmhmm, we should let Remus play. I should enjoy a good laugh if he defeats you," Lily said smiling. 

Sirius scoffed. "You don't have anything to worry about, nobody's every beaten me!" 

"Certainly is a confident bugger isn't he?" Remus asked coming over to join them. Lily gave him a patronizing look. 

Sirius grinned wolfishly and stacked the first card. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Several explosions later and Sirius's eyebrows singed off, the Hogwarts Express stopped at Platform 9 ¾. Arabella and James never showed up so Lily guessed they were either expressing their newfound love in ways she didn't want to explain or they'd found something better to do than hang with them. 

"They're still not here!" Remus whined, looking everywhere for James and Arabella. Lily's arm was getting tired as she shifted her duffel bag for the third time. Sirius let his black owl Vampire's cage clatter to the floor. Vampire screeched loudly as she rolled away. 

Several people looked at Sirius in shock and anger as he let Vampire roll around the train station. 

"Siri, maybe you should pick up Vampire! She doesn't look too happy," Lily suggested. 

Sirius scowled and picked Vampire's cage up. She beat her wings at him and nearly knocked him to the floor. Vampire was not quite your average owl, or even bird: her wingspan was that of an eagle's and she had nasty glowing eyes that scared Lily to death. Lily often wondered where in the world Sirius got that vicious beast, but she never mentioned this to him because he loved that bird more than anything. 

"Shh, Vampire! It's ok no one's going to hurt you," Sirius cooed to the squawking owl. 

Remus and Lily groaned in unison. "Sirius, the bird can't talk back!" 

"Who said? She's Vampire! Vampire hears all," Sirius replied in an offended tone. 

"Well its not like we've offended the stupid owl or anything!" Lily said dryly. 

Sirius inhaled a sharp breath and reached his hands inside the golden cage bars to cover Vampire's ears. "She'll hear you! And you don't want her to peck your eyes out during the middle of the night, do you? Because you've got _lovely eyes, Lily!"   
  
_

"The stupid bird doesn't care, Sirius you prat!" Remus said crossly. 

"If you so even _think about letting that – that __thing out of its cage I'll open every window in the house!" Lily threatened, her eyes flashing. _

Sirius dropped the topic briefly after that as the three friends stood amongst a surging crowd of eager Hogwarts students on their ways home. 

"Good God, where is he?" Remus said irritated. 

"Could they have already left?" Sirius asked looking worried. 

"That's impossible! Why would James leave without you guys?" Lily asked. 

"I… don't know!" Sirius replied brightly. 

"He'd certainly leave without me," Lily said bitterly, "and I wouldn't mind the slightest." 

"Wait! WAIT! What about Troy and Greg? Maybe they're trying to pry Greg and Pretty Boy from all of their loyal fans," Sirius said excitedly. 

Remus groaned. "Please don't remind me of how my summer is going to be completely flushed down the drain!" 

"Hey! I think Troy is," Lily glanced at Sirius and Remus, "um… nice!" 

"Sure Lily! You think he's _nice. As in, nice __looking!" Sirius snickered. Lily was about to bop him over the head with the book in her bag when Arabella and James jumped into their nice little circle they'd formed. _

"Aha! My assailant is here!" James said mockingly and pinched Lily's cheek like a grandmother would. She gave him a deadly look and picked up her stuff. 

"You bet your sweet cakes little Jamsie," Lily said just as sarcastically. 

"Oh boy! We're going to have some fun this summer!" Arabella said sensing more bad vibes. 

"Straight up sister!" Sirius said jovially. 

"Don't call me sister," Arabella replied instantly. 

"Where are Greg and Pretty Boy?" Remus asked adopting Sirius's nickname for Troy. 

"They're getting their stuff, they'll be here in a few minutes," Arabella replied shortly and businesslike. 

"Gee, it sure isn't _nice to keep everyone waiting is it?" Lily asked acidly. _

"Too bad tootsie," James shot back. 

"Tootsie? Don't call me _tootsie or you'll wind up with a black eye to go with that broken jaw!" Lily threatened. _

"All right, _toots," James improvised with a sneer. _

Lily let out a loud aggravated sigh. "I refuse to play name games with an utter imbecile." 

"Good then, we're even!" James said, amused at her anger. 

"James, isn't that your dad?" Sirius asked, pointing to an old beat up green 1950's Cadillac. 

James groaned. "Oh man! Why did my dad have to bring that old piece of junk?" 

"I think it's great! I want one of those cars when I get older!" Lily said excitedly. All of them looked at her. 

"When you get older? Why not just Apparate?" Sirius asked curiously. 

"Because one of the privileges as a Muggle adult to be able to drive! And I want a car!" Lily said matter-of-factly. 

"You are _so strange, Lily! Apparation is way faster," Arabella said. _

Lily shrugged as Mr. Potter got out of the car. He was tall, but not gangly so and had a bit of confidence in his stride. James had obviously inherited his messy hair, as well as his self-confidence and charm. 

Arabella's jaw dropped open as Mr. Potter walked up to them. Needless to say, in Lily's words, Mr. Potter was an absolute babe. He had a lean, muscular frame and his eyes sparkled mischievously. If that were how James was going to look when he was his dad's age, Lily would marry him in a heartbeat. 

"Hey dad!" James said and ran up to give him a hug. Lily and Arabella hung back slightly, gaping at one another. 

"D – did you know James's dad was that attractive?" Arabella stammered. 

"James certainly didn't seem to inherit all of his father's good looks," Lily sneered. 

"Oh Lils, give him time to reach puberty why don't you?" Arabella said hotly. 

"He's _always going to be gangly and unattractive to me!" Lily shot back as she gathered her bad and trunk. _

"So, are you guys ready for a hot summer and lots of Quidditch?" Mr. Potter asked jovially. All of the boys cheered but all of the girls groaned. 

"Come on Lily, you can always just hang around the pool and smooch around with Troy!" James joked. 

Lily swung her bag at him in anger. "No _thank you, I'd rather bake in the hot sun playing Quidditch." _

"Where are Troy and Greg anyway? Weren't they supposed to be with you guys?" Mr. Potter asked surveying the crowd. 

"Erm… they'll be coming in a second, dad," James said smoothly. 

"All right, but we should get back soon. I don't know when Quidditch practice is," Mr. Potter replied looking anxious. 

"Mr. Potter plays Quidditch?" Lily hissed to Arabella. Arabella looked as dumbfounded as Lily did. 

"I didn't know that!" Arabella insisted. 

"We need to discuss this in a more _friendly manner with James when we have time," Lily vowed. Arabella nodded. _

Sirius tapped his foot impatiently as a silence settled around the group. 

_Tap, tap, tap. __Tap, tap, tap. Sirius's shoe hit the pavement in an annoying rhythm. _

"Sirius could you please stop tapping your shoe on the ground before you _do wind up eating it?" Lily snapped, stepping on Sirius's foot. _

Sirius yelped and immediately stopped. "Ouch Lils!" 

Lily pretended she hadn't heard him and spotted Troy and Greg heading casually towards them. "Hey! They're _finally here!" _

"Where'd you guys go?" James called. 

"Sorry, we were playing a really heated game of chess," Troy said smiling apologetically. Lily had to hand it to James; he certainly picked charming boys to hang around with. 

"Yeah, and I was winning until the train stopped!" Greg said unhappily. 

"That's ok, we've got lots to do at my house!" James said cheerfully. 

"Alright James, is everyone you invited here?" Mr. Potter asked. 

"Mr. Potter? As in, Charles Potter of the Chudley Cannons?" Troy asked in an awestruck voice. 

Mr. Potter grinned. "It sounds so formal when you use my entire _title, I'm just Mr. Potter this summer." _

"I admire your work so much sir!" Greg said enthusiastically shaking Mr. Potter's hand. 

James and Sirius laughed. "Come on you guys, it's not that big of a deal!" 

"Oh, so this explains all that orange stuff you have in your dorm!" Lily said flabbergasted. 

"You've been in his _dorm?!" Arabella shouted in confusion at Lily. _

"Only to get my Remembrall," Lily said sheepishly. 

"Wow this is _so cool! We get to spend the summer with Charles Potter!" Troy exclaimed excitedly. Lily wasn't so thrilled: not only would James not be around to talk to them but Troy would be busy worshipping Mr. Potter. What was the big deal anyway? _

"It should be an awesome summer! Lets get going, your mother wants to see you James," Mr. Potter said ruffling his son's hair so it stuck up more than usual. Lily cracked up at his static hair. 

James scowled and tried to flatten his hair as they all walked to the car. Lily was astounded to find that there was a _lot _more room than it looked on the outside. There were two rows of seats: three in the front and two in the back, that were all made out of expensive-looking leather. The trunk opened up and miraculously fit six trunks, two duffel bags, three owl cages with owls still in them, and three broomsticks. 

"All right, lets have-" Mr. Potter started assigning seats but Troy immediately ran to the door of the passenger seat and got in. They all stared at Troy. 

"What?" Troy asked innocently. 

"Er – nothing," Mr. Potter said uncertainly, "Anyway, why don't we have Greg, Arabella and Sirius in the front three seats and James and Lily in the back two?" 

Lily scowled. "Must I sit with Pot – I mean, James?" 

"It's fine, you guys! It doesn't matter where you sit!" Troy said impatiently. 

James stuck his tongue out at Lily and climbed in before her and sat in the seat closest to the door. 

"I am _not _crawling over you! Move your butt!" Lily said irately. 

James grinned at her and crossed his arms over his chest. "Nah. I don't feel like it!" 

Lily groaned and stepped into the chilly car. "Darn you and your long legs, you idiot!" She said as she tried to step over him but all it did was cause embarrassment and color to rise in her cheeks. Eventually she just ended flopping over him and banging her elbow on the window. 

James cackled at her. She bit her lip to refrain from saying anything as she rubbed her hurt elbow. 

"Lily, you are _such a boor!" James said rolling his eyes. _

"That word's too big for your vocabulary, you uneducated Neanderthal!" Lily shot back. 

"People, people! Lets not make this car ride unpleasant!" Mr. Potter called from the front seat. He revved the engine, which took a few tries since it was so old. Almost instantly after it'd been started, the old car started vibrating and bouncing. 

Lily crossly tried to stay in her seat without saying a word and crossed her arms over her chest. Mr. Potter started to pull out of his parking space as the car bounced some more and sputtered. 

"Oh, this sure is a joyride!" Lily spat at James. 

"Don't blame me! It's the stupid car!" James said huffily. 

"You're an _absolute idiot, you know that?" Lily shouted over the noise of the engine. _

"Thanks for the positive self-confidence boost!" James said sarcastically flashing her a thumbs up. 

"You're welcome!" Lily replied venomously and turned her back to him. 

For a while, the entire car was silent as they slowly made their way onto the main road towards the Potter's house. Lily herself became fascinated with what was outside; she'd never been to this part of the country before. James had borrowed some chewing gum from Arabella and was popping it loudly, much to Lily's irritation. And yet, they could all hear Troy's awestruck voice talking to Mr. Potter. 

"So, Lily, what do you want to do when we get to James's?" Arabella asked turning around so she could face them. 

"Get away from James?" Lily suggested dryly. 

"Sounds a lot like _my plan!" James said sarcastically. _

"Wow! Great minds think alike, don't they?" Sirius asked trying to lighten to mood. 

"I'm an _individual, Potter follows the crowd," Lily said cocking her head in James's direction._

James snorted. "I believe it's the other way around, Evans." 

Lily stuck her tongue out at him again. 

"That's really immature," James told her, irritated. 

"Thanks for informing me. Now, go tell it to someone who _cares, ok?" Lily said, grinning sweetly. _

Suddenly a huge red van appeared in view, speeding at a very fast velocity and coming straight for the left-hand side of the car. Lily shrieked as Mr. Potter hit the gas and sped away seconds before collision. The car flew along the road, causing several other vehicles to screech to a stop to avoid any accidents. Mr. Potter quickly swerved at the turn coming up and hit the curb, causing the car to nearly flip over. Everyone screamed and Lily found herself flung onto James as Mr. Potter slammed his foot down on the brake. The car came to an immediate stop and settled in a nice ditch. Exhaling a long, shaky breath, Lily slowly rose up. James's arms were protectively entwined around her waist, but she paid no notice to it; she chalked it up to the fact they were nearly involved in a car accident. Scowling and brushing herself off, she scooted as far away from him as possible and remained that way until the end of the ride. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**Wow! That took really long for me to write that chapter! I had major writers block but now I know what to do with this story! Thanks for all of your reviews, they mean a lot to me, keep doing that! :)  ** 


	17. Arrival at James's and the Deterioration...

_A/n; _**Ok, something scary to confess: I've been working nonstop on Emerald Eyes and have been neglecting my other stories :( Which is bad, because I've got great chapter ideas for Truth or Dare – Lord of the Rings Style, Only Time Can Tell and Ways To Kill the Rugrats! WEEEE! But as soon as I finish this chapter I'll work on everything else and finish it up so I can start a _new _story! YAAAAAAY! I'll probably make it be D/G or D/H or H/H or H/G because I haven't done anything with that for a while and Draco needs some attention :) Again, thank you guys for ALL THE SUPPORT! It's made my life _so _much more fun knowing I've got support for these stories. **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

The car episode forgotten about, Lily could finally concentrate on summer vacation. Sirius and Arabella were the only ones who had seen the little 'incident' in the back seat and teased her nonstop about it the rest of the way to the Potter home. 

"So Lily, tell me again; how in the _world _did you wind up there?" Sirius asked in a professional-sounding voice. He looked at her in mock-seriousness over steepled fingers.

Lily scowled and turned red. She muttered something incomprehensible and looked out the window again. The car seemed to be approaching an enormous larger-than-life Victorian-age white mansion. Lily's jaw almost dropped to the floor when she realized that this mansion was James's _house_! 

"Oh my – Potter, is this where you _live?_" Lily asked incredulously. She was dumbfounded by the sheer immensity of the place. 

James smiled in an annoyingly knowing way. "Yes. Yes it is." 

"Who lives there? You and the entire Quidditch team?" Arabella asked sarcastically, although equally stupefied. Mr. Potter drove the car up the long driveway and through the gilded gate doors with archaic 'P's' inscribed on them. 

Lily couldn't believe it; she just _could not _believe it. Potter lived in this _mansion _of a house? As the car drove through the gates, Lily realized how big his house really was: lush, trimmed green grass covered about 3 acres and flowers were kept in perfect rows along the side of the house. Neat, knee-high hedges ran in aesthetic patterns and bordered small gravel pathways. Lily was sure she spotted a large pond and a water fountain. 

"Gosh, Potter, what a place to live!" she exclaimed, still thunderstruck. 

"That's nothing – you should see their summer cottage!" Sirius replied.

Lily looked at him in shock. "You – they've – what?" 

James examined his nails in a blasé sort of way and didn't comment, which irritated Lily. Mr. Potter drove the car into the enormous three-car garage and turned off the engine. Lily opened the door and immediately tumbled out of the car. 

"Wow, I can't _wait _to eat some of your mom's brownies!" Sirius said happily, fetching his things from the trunk with a grunt. 

"I can't wait to go to bed!" Arabella commented in an equally joyous manner. 

"Er… I can't wait to get inside?" Remus suggested dryly. 

"That too!" Sirius grinned. 

"Ok, kids, I'm going to head into the house now, I've got some business to attend to!" Mr. Potter said. "The boys will show you to your rooms. Feel free to take what you will from the kitchen and go outside!". 

"No one is to berate me in any way about _anything_," Lily said in a venomous voice. 

"Well, we weren't going to until you mentioned it!" James said deviously. 

Lily whacked him over the head with her small purse. James winced and touched the top of his head dramatically as though checking for blood. 

"Jeez, Evans, what the heck do you keep in that purse? Bricks?" he said sarcastically. 

"No, but perhaps since I'm going to be hitting you with this I should!" Lily shot back with a small grin.

James looked nervous and Sirius, with his amazing people skills, jumped in at the right moment. "Righto! We'll whack James later, ok, Lilykins?" 

"Call me Lilykins and I'll knock you out with this thing!" Lily threatened, brandishing her purse once more. 

"Lily, its fine. Why don't James and Sirius and Remus escort us to our rooms like _gentlemen_," Arabella said pointedly looking at the three boys, "and we'll go take showers and find something to do, ok?"

Lily admired Arabella's ability to decrease her vocabulary enough to talk to James and Sirius, possibly the two biggest cotton heads in Hogwarts history, in a sensible way. Arabella was a real lady when she wanted to be but other than that she had a mouth and a devil-may-care attitude that often got her in trouble. 

"Who're you calling a gentleman?" Sirius asked defensively. 

James laughed and punched Sirius in the shoulder. "That's a _compliment_, stupid!" 

"Oh," Sirius said slightly ruffled. "Ok then."

"If you _ladies _follow me, I'll show you to your bedchambers," James said and stepped into a flourishing bow. 

Arabella and Lily looked at each other and laughed but followed the boys in. Again, Lily's jaw dropped open at the exquisiteness of James's house: the living room was at least as big as 1/3 of a football field and covered in thick, plush white carpeting that felt like they were stepping on clouds. The lighting was bright but cheerful and candles littered the room in a comforting array of colors unlit. There was a giant coral-colored couch with overstuffed pillows that faced an antique-looking fireplace. Lily looked at it wistfully, picturing herself sitting there squished in with all the pillows reading a good book, and smiled. There was a great stairway that wound gracefully up in a wide circle, not a tight spiral like you would find in a lighthouse. All of them dragged their trunks up the stairs with an enormous amount of noise. 

"Potter, your house is bloody huge!" Arabella said taking the words right out of Lily's mouth. 

James grinned at her. "Ever played hide-and-seek in the dark in a scary mansion?" 

Lily gulped. "Well, all in all, its impressive by far standards!" 

"Thanks… I think," James said smiling uncertainly. He dropped his trunk with a loud bang and everyone followed in suit. 

"This is Arabella's room!" James said going to the closest room and swinging open the door. Lily should've been used to being introduced to his lavish living styles by now, but James continued to amaze her. It was, as usual, larger than Lily's at-home bedroom with light blue carpeting. A giant, king-sized bed sat in the center of the room with light blue, dark blue and white striped comforter and four pillows decorated similarly to the comforter. A cherry oak nightstand stood near the bed with a lamp and box of tissues on it. A dresser - also made of cherry oak - stood across the bed. Arabella gave and excited squeak and ran off to find her things so she could start putting them away in her room. 

"And obviously she likes it," Remus commented, watching Arabella run off. 

All of them laughed. James broke off and continued the tour of his house, next going to Lily's room. She swung open the door slowly, expecting it to be a closet or the stairway to the basement but was pleasantly surprised. It was a big, cozy-feeling room with lavender painted walls and a slight flowery musk in the air. Lily stepped into the room speechless, as the boys followed her silently. She ran her fingers over the ivory writing desk near the door - afraid it would crumble to dust under her fingers. It looked like lace turned stone. The bed was what got her the most: it looked much like her bed at Hogwarts except it was much bigger and softer. It had four posters, like at Hogwarts, but there was a lavender colored canopy over it and sheer white cloth draped down the sides of the posts, giving it an almost heavenly image. 

She looked back at James with a hesitant look on her face. James smiled at her and turned off the lights, bringing to life miniscule stars that glittered all around the room. Lily gaped at the room in wonder. James had given her this room, this gorgeous room?

James turned the lights back on, much to Lily's disappointment, but she ran up to hug him anyway. 

"Thank you," she whispered in his ear. If James was bewildered, he didn't show it. 

"You're welcome," he said happily. 

She broke away from him grinning from ear to ear and went to get her things. The one thing that disturbed her most about their relationship was that they were either the best friends or the worst of enemies, never in between. Lily went back to her room to find that the three boys were gone, probably to go off to their own rooms and unpack. She took out all of her Hogwarts things and put them neatly in the closet before closing it, hoping not to take any schoolwork out for a while. She then unpacked the rest of her trunk, consisting mainly of Muggle clothing and other trinkets she had to have with her. 

A knock came at her door. Lily went to go answer it and found Arabella standing with a hair dryer in her hand and an anxious look on her face. 

"What's up?" Lily asked. 

"I forgot to ask James where the bathroom was! But knowing him, it's probably a swimming pool! What do I do, what do I do?" Arabella asked, looking helpless. 

Lily laughed. "Wait a second and I'll get my shower stuff."

Arabella stood impatiently at the door whilst Lily unpacked. Lily took her duffel bag of extra Muggle clothes with her and they went down the stairs to where they came in. 

"I'm utterly lost," she said. 

Arabella sighed and raked a hand through her long black hair. "Tell me about it! You'd think they would've given us a map or something!" 

"Try calling James," Lily suggested. 

"What, you mean like just hollering his name?" Arabella asked giving her a 'are you crazy?' look. 

"Yes!" Lily said responding with a 'duh, you moron' look. 

"JAMES! WHERE'S YOUR BLOODY BATHROOM?" Arabella screeched. 

No one answered. Lily groaned and sat down on the floor. 

"Great, now we're alone in his huge house!" she exclaimed. 

"Hey you guys! What're you doing down there?" Called James from the top of the staircase. Remus and Sirius leaned on the banister on either side of him, a slight grin on their faces. 

"Looking for your bathroom!" Lily yelled back up. 

"We'll be down in a second," James replied, sneaking a look at Sirius and Remus. 

Lily waited patiently while Arabella looked at some interesting Muggle antiques, which she'd never seen before in her life. All they appeared to be were a bunch of old clocks that didn't work anymore. 

"So, Potter, where's your indoor pool?" Lily joked. 

"Down the hall, third door to the left. We've also got an outdoor heated pool," James said blankly. 

Lily's eyes could've dropped out of her head at this news. How much could still be in his house? A circus?

"You've got a pool? Great!" Arabella replied, "I brought my swimsuit."

Remus laughed. "What _didn't _you remember?"

Arabella mused over this. "My coconut bra from my cousin's birthday party!"

Sirius looked crestfallen at this news. "Could you somehow get it here?"

"Sirius Black!" Arabella yelled in shock.

James laughed out loud. "Sirius - that was good."

Sirius smiled innocently. "What'd I do?"

Lily shook her head in disbelief. "Is this the only thing he ever thinks about?"

"Pretty much, but we've gotten used to it and reprimand him little," Remus said almost sadly. 

"Maybe you should hit him over the head with something every now and again. You know, just make him go cross-eyed for a bit!" Arabella suggested still looking at Sirius like he was a dangerous criminal.

"Perhaps he got dropped on his head as a small… creature," Remus commented. 

"Hey! That is an _insult _to my supreme intelligence!" Sirius said in mock offense. 

"Of course it is, Siri-poo!" James said in a sugary voice. He pinched Sirius' cheek hard, leaving a red mark on the latter's face.

Sirius scowled and tried to swat James away. The girls laughed at Sirius but he was too busy nursing his injured ego to notice. 

James cleared his throat trying to stop himself from laughing. "Anyway, the bathroom is to the right," he pointed off beyond the staircase, "and to your first door on the left."

"Thanks! What time is dinner so we can be ready?" Lily said and picked up her duffel bag. 

"I don't know but I'd estimate about two hours. . .will that be enough time to beautify yourselves?" James asked sarcastically. 

"Uhm, duh! We already _are _beautiful!" Arabella giggled. 

"Yeah, we don't _need _to beautify ourselves, we just - want to!" Lily added 

All the boys rolled their eyes. 

"See you in a bit!" They chorused as Lily and Arabella walked away. 

The two girls walked down the hall in silence pausing only to marvel at the spectacular paintings that hung along the walls. 

"Isn't that darling? It's little Jamesie!" Arabella squealed and pointed to a black and white picture of a boy holding an ice cream cone.  

"Aw! Wonder whatever happened to him? All he's got now is fangs and a mean bite!" Lily joked. 

"Why must you hate him, Lily?" Arabella said tiredly. 

Lily looked at her with surprise. "Hate? I do _not _hate him! That's _such _a strong word to use, Arabella Figg." 

Arabella shrugged as if it didn't bother her. "Well, it's probably the truth!"

"I do not hate him, Arabella, I simply dislike how he thinks!" Lily continued. 

"Whatever you say, Lily," Arabella said in an unconvincing tone. 

They continued down the hallway and stopped when they approached the bathroom. Lily poked Arabella to make her go faster but Arabella stopped cold as she approached the door. 

"What's wrong?" Lily hissed at Arabella. 

"You open it," she said in a timid voice, "you're at least used to living in luxury."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, confusion clouding her eyes. 

Arabella looked uncomfortable. "What I mean is – well, not like _that _but I'm afraid someone's in there!" 

Lily laughed. "There's no one in there, trust me."

Arabella pulled the doorknob slowly and a blast of cold air hit them, making them shiver. 

"Is this bathroom supposed to be so darn chilly?" Lily asked irately, trying to stop her teeth from chattering. 

Arabella admired the tapestries hanging in the Potters's bathroom. "Wow. You could live in here!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I doubt anyone wants to live in a _bathroom_, Arabella."

"Well maybe if they had a refrigerator and some –" 

"No, Arabella. No one is going to live in a bathroom," Lily said in a no-nonsense voice. 

Arabella looked as though she was about to argue but instead set her jaw and dropped her bag of toiletries on the floor. It fell with a loud clank and she winced, picking it up and checking for anything cracked. While Arabella did this, Lily walked around the room examining it. 

"This must be James's bathroom. Either that or its Orion's," Lily said gesturing towards the manly deodorant and shaving cream and other assorted things. 

"Bit feminine for ol' Gryffindor Quidditch Captain himself, don't you think?" Arabella remarked sardonically. 

"Maybe he didn't have a choice on the color," Lily replied helpfully. 

"Lily, the bathroom is _pink_. You'd think he would've had _some _saying!" Arabella reasoned with a short laugh. 

Lily shrugged. "Maybe Mr. Quidditch isn't all that masculine as we all think."

"Perhaps," Arabella said, "or it really is James' bathroom!" And with saying that, they both collapsed into peals of laughter. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Forty-five minutes later, Arabella and Lily strode down to their rooms fresh and clean. Lily wore a simple cotton no-sleeved white shirt and a pastel green skirt with sandals and Arabella wore a dark blue tank top with white shorts. Lily had let Arabella do her hair, which Arabella blew dry and left it down hanging about Lily's shoulders in fiery tendrils. Arabella adjusted her giant hoop earrings and flipped her curled long black hair over her shoulder before rapping on James' door. 

"Jamesie? We're heading down for dinner, you coming?" Lily called. 

"Yeah, be down in a second," James called with his voice muffled by the thick oak door. 

Lily looked at Arabella hesitantly and they headed downstairs again to the main floor. Dinner would be outside in the nice weather while it lasted, with Troy and Greg as well as the rest of the Potter family. 

"Let's go out to the patio, maybe there's something we can help with," Lily suggested, tugging at her too-short skirt. 

"Stop tugging at it, you look fine!" Arabella snapped at Lily. Lily stopped fidgeting and shot an apologetic look at Arabella.

"Sorry," she muttered. They stepped onto the patio and a cool breeze lifted a few strands of Arabella's hair and threw them carelessly around her face. 

"Lord, if you think his house is big you always get surprised when you look at his yard!" Arabella said in an astonished voice. And she couldn't have been more right: their lawn was impeccably kept and dazzlingly green. In addition, right ahead of them was an actual Quidditch field with bleachers! 

Soaring far above them, they noticed, were Sirius, Remus, Troy and Greg tossing around the Quaffle. Just thinking about it made Lily dizzy. 

"And Mister Potter expects me to be up that high? _Again_?" she squeaked. 

Arabella laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "This time James will _definitely _be there the whole time."

Lily scowled. "He better be!" 

"Its not like he _wanted _to leave your side Lily!" Arabella said in a taken aback voice. 

"I know, and I'm sorry to be short with you but flying isn't exactly how I want to spend my vacation," Lily admitted. 

"Why not?" Asked James, sliding the glass doors shut and stepping onto the patio to join them.

"Thanks for eavesdropping!" Arabella said venomously. 

"I just happened to come out here!" James said, holding up his hands in defense. 

Lily snorted. "How long have you been standing there?" 

"A few minutes," James said grinning, "long enough to know you don't want to play Quidditch this summer."

Lily groaned. "No need to remind me!" 

"Come on Lily, its not all bad! Just because of _one _experience-"

"James Orion Potter! It was not _just _some experience; I nearly died!" Lily shouted indignantly.

"Right! But you got over it," James reasoned. 

"How do _you _know?" Lily inquired in a slightly injured voice. 

James looked at her. "Lily?"  
  


"It scared me half to death!" 

"LILY!" 

"All right. I haven't _completely _gotten over it," Lily said quietly. 

Arabella and James looked at one another. "Lily, you should've said something."

"What was I supposed to say? That I'm afraid of a broom?" Lily said with a snort. 

"Er… it would've been better than saying you didn't want to fly!" Arabella said hopefully. 

Lily crossed her arms firmly over her chest. "Well. Now you know!" 

"Yeah, and you're still going to fly!" James said. 

Lily looked at him with confused shock. "No – no I'm not."

"Well you're going to have to face your fears sometime!" James said, frustrated. 

"Oh no I won't!" Lily said mulishly. 

This seemed to be the deciding statement of the conversation. James shrugged and went back inside to get his broom before joining the other boys in the air.

"Did you have to say that?" Arabella asked Lily as James walked away. 

"Yes!" Lily exclaimed. 

"Lily, you'll get over it," Arabella said pointedly. 

"Just – just let it lie until tomorrow, ok?" Lily pleaded. 

Arabella gave Lily her best scary look and laughed evilly. "Of course."

Lily spotted Orion having a bit of trouble with a large picnic table he was dragging across the yard. She flashed Arabella a 'hold on a second' look and ran to help Orion. 

"Thanks Lily," Orion grunted as he tried to pick up the table for easier management. She smiled at him and hoisted the table up and walked it over a few paces and dropped it. 

"No problem. Where's everyone else?" Lily asked. 

Orion looked puzzled. "I think mum and dad are in the kitchen, Vanessa should be here soon."

Vanessa, James' older sister who worked at the Ministry, was out with her old friends from Hogwarts for the day. 

"Oh. So, hoping for the Head Boy spot?" Lily asked. 

"I am confidant I will be Head Boy!" Orion said fervently. 

His tone made Lily want to salute him but she refrained from doing so. "And I'm sure you'll make a _wonderful _Head Boy!" 

"Thank you," Orion said shortly. 

Meanwhile, up in the air, Sirius and James were flying around aimlessly, not participating in the Quidditch game anymore. 

"Given any thought to what we're going to do this year for pranks? I've taken quite a liking to causing mayhem!" Sirius said with an evil smirk. 

James grinned at him. "You always _were _good at being a nuisance."

Sirius shrugged. "You can't blame me."

"No. . . I can't," James mused. 

Sirius swung his legs back and forth and flipped himself over a few times, laughing like a maniac. He swung up again and leaned forward on his broom a bit to look at something. He squinted and held his hands up to his eyes to see well in the twilight. 

"You know what?" he said slowly. 

James shook his head. "No, what?" 

"Lily's… very pretty," Sirius said with a small smile. 

"Er… sure, why not?" James said, giving him a strange look. 

"No, I'm serious! She and Arabella are going to be the ones everyone chases after," Sirius prophesized. 

"Sure Siri, sure," James said rolling his eyes and socking him in the arm. 

"Take a look for yourself! She's talking to your brother," Sirius said pointing at where they were standing. 

"Argh, she's talking to Mr. Future Minister of Magic. She's in for a treat if she wants her ear to be talked off about the importance of - of - well, she'll get her ear talked off!" James exclaimed, irritated. 

"I find him to be a good subject to test things on. Like that beginners potion maker I got when I was seven! Remember that?" Sirius said his voice laced with amusement. 

"And his face was all splotchy the whole day!" James laughed. 

"Those were some good times. Good times," Sirius said pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. 

"Would you excuse me? I want to test out my aim on my brother," James said grinning. He flew over to the rather large apple tree growing in their backyard and picked an apple. He flew back to Sirius who looked at him with a muddled look. 

"What're you going to do with that?" Sirius asked hesitantly. 

James sighed. He tried to explain it like he was talking to a two-year-old. "James. Apple. Throw at brother."

"OH! Good one, Jamesie!" Sirius said with his features immediately brightening. 

"Right. And don't call me Jamesie," James said before swerving his broom to get closer to his intended target. 

He closed one eye and wrinkled his nose before pulling his arm back and flinging the apple with amazing swiftness. 

"Fly off!" Sirius shouted. James nodded; they didn't want to get caught. They flew to the side of the apple tree and burst out laughing when a number of selective curse words were heard. 

"What the – " Lily asked in confusion, looking at Orion. Then she heard James and Sirius laughing from behind the apple tree and marched over to where she heard them.

"Sirius Alan Black and James Orion Potter, get down here!" 

"His middle name is _Alan_?" Arabella called from the patio, laughing. 

Sirius fumed but slowly lowered his broom. "Don't make fun of my middle name!" 

"What'd you do to poor Orion?" Lily demanded. 

Sirius flashed her an innocent look. "Don't look at me, it was James!" 

"Potter!" Lily yelled. 

"Yes?" James asked peeking his head out of his hiding spot. 

"Get down here before your broom is toothpicks!" Lily snarled. 

James gulped. But what could Lily do? She was afraid of flying and heights _and _she was on the ground!

"I'd _love _to but I'm quite comfortable up there, thank you!" James said with a mocking grin on his face. 

"Are you taunting me?" Lily asked him angrily. 

"No!" James said in a fake truthful voice. 

"Good – wait, you're lying!" Lily said in a reproachful voice. 

James cackled and was about to throw an apple at Lily when the Quaffle suddenly smacked against the tree and nearly knocked James off his broom. Remus flew by him and grabbed the Quaffle on its rebound and flew off again, whooping and hollering. 

"Remus is _such _a guy," Lily said rolling her eyes. 

"You don't say!" Sirius said sarcastically. 

"Well he just always _appeared _to be more sensitive than you two!" Lily said bluntly. 

"Remus is not a pansy!" James said outraged. 

"I never suggested that he was!" Lily spluttered. 

"Well, as long as you're not suggesting…" James said and flew down to the ground reluctantly. 

"Glad to see you're finally seeing things my way, Potter," Lily said innocently. 

James gritted his teeth irately. He hated obeying her; and seeing that smirk on her face wasn't about to improve his plummeted spirits. But, there was one thing that would definitely change that…

"You're absolutely right Lily, you always are," He said with fake sincerity. Lily looked pleased with herself. 

"Yes well, it's easy to influence the… _simple minded_," she said. 

James dismounted his broom and stood face to face with Lily. "You know what, Lily?"

Lily's face registered alarm and backed up as he inched closer to her. "What?" 

"You've got," he said in a low voice and brought one arm around her waist, "really pretty eyes."

Lily closed her eyes and a deep pink color flushed her cheeks. "T – thanks."

"No problem," he said with a grin as he suddenly pulled her onto his broom. Before she could say anything or do anything, he hopped onto the broom to be behind her and kicked off. 

Lily shrieked, outraged, and tried to slug him in the face and kick him but all he did was laugh and grab her wrists with an iron grip. 

"What the _bloody hell _did you do that for?" She shrieked. 

"You think you're so wonderful!" James said angrily. 

"I'm a bloody princess, now let me down!" Lily cried. She saw the ground getting further and further away and began to feel the first traces of panic. 

James sensed her alarm and held her arms behind her back and scooted closer to her so he could rest his chin on her shoulder. 

"If I let go will you promise not to be a pest this summer?" James said softly in her ear. 

She shot him a defeated, pathetic look but looked resolute. "I'll do what I can."

His grip tightened and she winced. "You'll _do what you can_?" 

"Fine, I'll be on my best behavior! Just let me go, dammit!" Lily said in a desperate voice. 

James let go of her, satisfied with her answer but kept his chin on her shoulder. She sighed in a slightly peeved tone and gripped the front of the broom tightly. James abruptly put his hands on hers, controlling the broom. 

He steered the broom upwards, much to Lily's shrieking dismay. 

"What're you doing _now_?" Lily shouted. 

"Going for a broom ride, duh!" James yelled, trying to conceal his glee. 

Lily gritted her teeth and refrained from saying anything. She screamed again as he flipped them upside down. 

"Potter! I HATE YOU!" Lily shouted, her knees feeling weak from fear. 

James shrugged and got another brilliant idea. He flew up into a giant arc and then put on max speed towards the ground. 

Lily's heartbeat picked up immediately as they plummeted to the ground. She could hear the wind whistling in her ears and her fiery red hair was whipping in the wind, flying behind her. 

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US!?" she shouted desperately at him. He didn't answer and tried to think of a way to maneuver a way to somehow pull out of the dive at the very last second. 

"Just – trust me!" James said with his teeth gritted.

Lily was about to respond when she saw the ground get closer. She felt like she was caught in slow-motion, when you're aware that something's coming but you feel impelled to not do anything about it because you're frozen with fear. 

"Hate to break it to you but – GROUND!" she yelled at the last second and winced before the impact of the fall could hit her. 

But they never hit the ground and Lily slowly opened her eyes to find James pulling out of the dive, landing smoothly on the ground. 

"Remember what I said," James said simply, holding out his hand to help her off the broom. 

Lily nearly exploded with anger. That – that stupid childish imp! He did that whole thing just to scare her into agreeing with him! 

"Yeah, I remember what you said," Lily said icily and hopped off the broom without his help. 

"Ouch. I detect Arctic chills," James muttered. 

"Maybe I'd warm up if you stopped playing games with me!" Lily snapped, whirling around. 

"Playing games with you? No, no, no! I have better things to do than spend my time playing games with you Lily!" James said, infuriated. 

"Well you made it perfectly clear," Lily said pointing to the sky, "up there when you nearly _killed _me!" 

James snorted and crossed his arms. "I cannot _believe _I am arguing with you again!" 

"Right back at you!" Lily shot back. 

"All I asked you to do is try and not be pesky!" James protested. 

Lily narrowed her eyes. "You're a sadistic little freak, aren't you?" 

"I always get what I want," James said pompously. 

"Your arrogance will kill you and you're spoiled rotten, James Potter!" Lily shouted at him and stomped off to her room, not bothering with dinner. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

From that moment on, Lily and James' friendship, so to speak, deteriorated rapidly. Eventually, they couldn't be in the same room without arguing. And then, thanks to Lily and James's foolish pigheadedness, they stopped talking all together except to shoot well-thought insults at one another. 

And this is where it gets interesting…

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Ok, that section of her life is DONE! COMPLETE! FINISHED! Now I can start fresh again in a whole another year complete with totally random teenage mood swings and other petty problems that teens deal with. So stick around with Lily and forget about your own problems for a while, prop up your feet, review and ENJOY! **


	18. Detention, Miss Evans!

_rA/n; _**Chapter 18! I cannot believe that this story has gotten so long! Ok, so recap here: Lily and James aren't friends anymore. They're sort of like unspoken enemies, you know? Anyway, now we pick up in their fourth year where things really start happening. Big, big, BIG things! Bear with me while I describe all of their new physical characteristics, you know, the ones that make Lily and James seem really preppy and stuff? LOL. Plus, we meet up with Sabrina and Misty again; sorry I've been sort of skimping on them! **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

| **F**o**u**r**t**h **Y**e**a**r **| **

"POTTER!" Lily Evans yelled loud enough for the entire breakfast hall to hear. 

"Just another ordinary day…" Sirius Black commented. 

"In the life of Lily," Remus Lupin finished. 

"You'd better run, James," Sirius advised as Lily stalked over to their table. James gulped and ran out of the room in record speed. 

"Where's James, that sneaky little rat?" Lily snarled, flipping the tablecloth over their breakfast to see where James had hidden. 

"What're you talking about?" Remus asked, going rather unsuccessfully for a look of innocence. He tried also not to notice her once-red hair, which was now a mass of piled up blue hair with yellow zigzags. 

"Don't defend your doomed friend, Remus!" Lily threatened, looking up from her search. 

"Yeah Remus! Don't defend – yes! Do not defend James, Lily will definitely get to him!" Sirius said loudly in a convincing tone. He winked over exaggeratedly at Remus over Lily's back. 

"Don't be daft –" Remus started but was briefly quieted as Sirius's leg connected with his shin. He let out a loud yell and a few unsavorywords. 

Lily jerked up like a marionette on taut strings. "James isn't here, is he?" 

Sirius blanched. "What're you talking about? Of course he's here!"

Remus shot Sirius a confused look but smiled when Lily looked at him. The hair was really getting to him. 

"No, he's not! You two wouldn't be so impassive if he was here!" Lily said, using one of her big words again. 

"Listen lady, I may not know what 'impassive' means but he's not here! He ran out," Sirius said pointing and not knowing what he was saying, "that way!" 

Lily suddenly whooped triumphantly and Remus groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Sirius, you're an utter hopeless idiot." 

"What'd I do?" Sirius asked confused. His eyes widened and he clamped his hands over his mouth, cursing. 

"Thanks Siri," Lily said with a smirk. She nearly skipped out of the hall, with all eyes watching Lily Evans with blue hair. 

The corridor outside of the hall was nearly deserted, save a few students scrambling to make it to breakfast before lessons. Three of those people, she noticed, were Sabrina, Misty and Arabella. 

"Hey! You guys!" Lily called waving to them. Arabella and Sabrina squinted at Lily, hesitant as if not to come over or not. 

"Lily! Oh," Misty said trotting over and stopping in her tracks when she saw Lily's hair. She put her hands on her hips and took on a lecturing tone. "You tried to dye your hair, didn't you?" 

Lily groaned and touched her hair, which felt sticky and full of mousse. Sabrina cast a wary eye over Lily. "What'd you do to your hair?" 

"Oh, Lily! I could've helped you dye it! But – but your red hair was so lovely!" Misty lamented, reaching out her hand to touch Lily's damaged hair. At the last second, she thought better of it and pulled her hand away. 

Arabella nearly burst out laughing when she noticed the zigzags in Lily's hair. "Girl, I don't get you." 

"Stop! Stop – talking!" Lily said in clipped tones, holding up her hand to stop the flow of questions. 

They all stood there, shocked at Lily's tone. She never _ever _snapped at anyone! Well, save James Potter. 

"Sorry Lily, it's just your – your hair, you know? It looks… well – ridiculous!" Sabrina said in an apologetic voice, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. 

"Yeah, style courtesy of James Potter," Lily said with her teeth clenched. 

All of them gaped at her. "James did that to you?" 

Lily snorted. "Who else would do this to me?"

"Maybe it was Sirius!" Misty offered. Arabella chose to remain out of the conversation and sauntered away to breakfast. 

"Sirius is _much _too busy with other things to play stupid pranks," Sabrina sniffed. 

"Like _what_?" Misty asked her incredulously. 

"Yeah, what is he doing when he _isn't _playing pranks with James? Studying?" Lily scoffed and the thought of Sirius Black focusing on his studies was so outrageously funny that they all couldn't help themselves and burst out laughing. Nearly everyone in the school knew the only thing he cared about was girls and pranks. 

Sabrina looked agitated, however. "No, Sirius is not that childish!" 

"Oh, he isn't?" Misty asked with an amused twinkle in her eyes. 

"No. And if you'll excuse me, I've got more pressing errands to do!" Sabrina said twirling on her heel. 

"What is up with her?" Lily asked in shock. Sabrina was usually never so uptight. She was usually too busy acting like she was superior to everyone else to care about anything except being well, superior. 

"Maybe she didn't get enough sleep," Misty suggested. 

"Yeah right, she's just upset because that fifth year wouldn't go to Hogsmeade with her!" Lily said. Lately Sabrina spent more time with the older students than she did with any of her other friends. 

"Perhaps. I'm starving, lets go find something to eat!" Misty said. 

"You go on ahead, I'm going to find James and tell him to right my hair!" Lily said with spite in her voice. 

"Right Lils, you go searching for revenge. Save you a muffin?" 

"Thanks, I'm actually really hungry too," Lily said and half considered braving the breakfast hall just to eat, but revenge had a sweet tooth. 

"You've got that malicious gleam in your eyes. Don't do anything to poor James, he's probably delusional!" Misty said with a pleading look. 

Lily snorted. "I will not be made a fool of that… fool of a Potter!" 

"Ooh, good one," Misty said sarcastically and walked off, leaving Lily alone to seek her vengeance. 

Lily touched her hair again and found it to be drying. Snarling and muttering to herself, she stalked off before the spell or whatever he'd used on her hair became permanent. 

She walked along the sunlit corridor and grimaced at the happiness of the rest of the world: _they _didn't have their hair dyed by their worst enemy. 

"Potter, what are y – " Lily said and almost crashed into a suit of armor. She spotted a telltale mass of unruly black hair behind a desk in the empty classroom she had wandered into. She almost didn't approach because she didn't know _exactly _what it was. 

Deciding to take the risk, she strode right up to the mass of hair and pulled. Hard. James Potter came up with a yelp, trying to swat away her hands but she held her ground. A startled blonde scrambled around on the floor, getting up and trying to flatten her own hair, tugging furiously at her clothes. 

Lily smirked knowingly as James slowly stopped struggling. "What do _you _want, Evans? Some of my hair? Seems you've got enough of it!" 

"Cute. Is she yours?" Lily said choosing to ignore to the comment. She pointed at the tall blonde girl finger combing her hair and straightening her robes that had 'mysteriously' been rumpled and her shirt, which seemed to be in the beginning stages of being unbuttoned. She was absolutely crimson. 

"She's my girlfriend, if that's what you mean," James said coolly. 

"Oh. I see. What'd you do with the other one? Lose her?" Lily said sarcastically. 

"Something came up," He said bitterly. 

"Right. You trashed her!" Lily said with a wide grin, "and you figured you needed a change of… scenery?" 

The blonde shot Lily a murderous look but Lily stared back with her own menacing glare. "Um, James? I'm going to go down to – to breakfast now, ok?" The blonde girl said twirling a piece of her hair around her manicured finger, still looking at Lily. 

"Ok. Let me and Lily finish some _business_," James said and the slightly ruffled girl gave him a peck on the cheek and ran out of the room. 

Lily let go of James's hair and he ran to the other end of the room. "Bit early to be having romantic rendezvous, don't you think?" 

He pulled out his wand. "Bit early to be pretending you're so high and mighty, Princess?"

"Aw, I'm flattered!" Lily said batting her eyelashes, whipping out her wand as well. 

"Honestly Lily, why don't you mind your own business?" James said in an irritated voice. 

"Because then my life would be over and I'd just die from boredom – _Jamesie_," Lily cooed. 

"Well trust me, no one's exactly going to be mourning!" James shot back. 

"Bite me. Listen, I'd love to meddle with you some more but first you need to change my hair back to normal," Lily said promptly. 

James smirked and twirled his wand around. "What, you think it's that easy? Just say 'James, change my hair back?'" 

Lily smiled hesitantly. "Yes?" 

"Lily, you know I have to hold you up to a higher standard! You've got to get down on your knees and grovel to me," James grinned. 

Lily snorted and began to get a bit irked. "Bow down to me first and we'll talk business." 

"Hmm… no. I guess you'll just have to walk around with that hair for the rest of the day – or the rest of your life!" James said with an evil glint in his eyes. 

Lily gasped. "You _wouldn't_!" 

James nodded. "Oh, yes I would!"

"You put a 24 hour spell or something on it, didn't you?" Lily spat, pointing an accusing finger at him. 

James looked at her innocently. "Why would I do such a thing?" 

Lily put her hands on her hips. "Stubborn little bugger, aren't you? All right, what're your demands?" 

"Demands? Dear Lily, you underestimate me!" James said in a shocked voice. 

Lily snorted. If there was one thing James was good at, it was making bargains. "How about I hook you up with Sabrina?" 

James made a face. "Too high maintenance." 

"Misty?" 

"Too… girl-next-door," James said dismissively. 

"For the love of – Potter, it's _just _a girl! You can dump her if you don't like her!" Lily cried incredulously. If girls were food, he'd be the king of pickiness. 

"What makes you think I want a girl out of all of this?" James asked. 

"Because you're bloody _James Potter_, the world's biggest womanizer!" Lily nearly shouted. 

And it was true. Well, at least to Lily. Every single week it seemed, he was with a different girl and she kept finding them in the weirdest places: the library, her dorm (that got old _very _fast) and deserted classrooms. Of course, she could see why the girls found him so charming, although she wouldn't be caught _dead _within a five-mile radius with him unless she absolutely had to. He'd grown out of his lanky, awkward 11-year-old phase and into a broad-shouldered, confident, flirty 14-year-old. The only things that seemed to remain with him were his amazing Quidditch skills and his unruly black hair. The mention of James's hair always made Lily laugh, for all of the girls sighed and giggled to themselves about wanting to run their hands through his 'luxuriously silky hair' and other inane babble and hair flipping. He also seemed to have taken lessons from some sort of professional on how to be confident and seductive and charming all rolled into one. To Lily it looked like arrogance; to the rest of the female population it looked like some new hottie on the teen scene in Muggle music. 

"How about we draw up a pact?" James said, interrupting her thoughts. 

"What?" Lily asked. 

"I said, how about we – " 

"I _know _what you said," Lily snapped coldly, "I just didn't understand. What value is a pact made by James Potter?" 

"James Potter always keeps his word," James said solemnly. 

Lily raised her eyebrows. This was… probably true. "All right. What sort of pact?" 

"If we're civilized to each other, I'll change your hair back," James said. 

Lily pretended to think about this. Hmm, being civil to James Potter for the rest of her life _just _to get her hair changed back? Choices, choices. No, it wasn't worth it. She spun on her heel and stalked out of the classroom. 

"No thanks, I'll just ask a _teacher _to change it back!" Lily called over her shoulder. She couldn't help but grin to herself. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"What a complete _jerk_," Lily said emphatically, sitting down beside Misty, Arabella and Sabrina in Charms.

"Who?" Sabrina asked, completely oblivious for once. 

"James, obviously!" Misty said judging from the tired tone in Lily's voice. 

"Are you _still _fighting with him? Ugh, that is _so _2nd year!" Sabrina said tiredly, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder. 

"I think it's interesting how Lily remains to be the only person who hasn't succumbed to James's 'charms'," Arabella said with a roll of her eyes. 

Lily laughed. "You seem to be on my side more than theirs as well!" 

Arabella shrugged, pulling out her Charms book. "He doesn't bother me, I don't bother him."

"Hey, that philosophy works for me!" Misty said taking her hair out of her ponytail and fiddling with the charms on her bracelet. 

"Oh, don't look now Sabrina, here comes _Sirius_!" Arabella said with a teasing grin. 

Sabrina looked alarmed for a second and quickly flipped her hair again, crossing her legs and leaning back in her desk casually. 

"Hey Sirius," Sabrina said calmly. 

Lily and Arabella stared blankly at each other. Sirius along with his entourage (James and Remus) sat down, much to Lily's dismay, right next to them. 

"Hi Sabrina," Sirius said in a friendly voice. Despite the fact that Sirius was James's best friend, he was always nice to everyone. The same went for Remus. 

"Fancy meeting you here, Evans!" James said in a mock surprised voice. 

"Same here! I mean, I thought by this point you'd be skipping class to go pull some pranks!" Lily said in a completely oblivious-sounding voice. 

"I do love my work," James admitted grinning. 

"It must be fun to be an arrogant jerk as well!" Lily responded in a fake happy voice. 

"Oh, come now Lily – James… James is a lovely person, I'm sure!" Misty said in a breathless voice. Lily looked over at Misty and to be blunt, that's what her eyes were: misty and looking at James with puppy-like adoration. 

"… Misty?" Arabella asked, waving a hand in front of her. 

"Ye – yes?" Misty asked as if coming out of a trance. 

"Yeah, I'm sure James is a _lovely person_," Arabella said. 

"I am!" James said indignantly. 

"Lily! Your hair is still the same!" Remus replied suddenly. 

"Oh yeah! I'll get it changed after class," Lily said, shooting James a look. 

James smirked at her. "Yeah, Lily's hair style compliments of James Potter." 

"And it's a really, really great hair cut, I mean it's _so _blue!" Misty said gushing. 

James smiled at her. Lily sensed a bonding moment, which was a moment she could live without. She thought quickly and kicked James in the shins. 

"OW! Fuck, Evans! What was that for?" James swore loudly. 

"What? What'd she do?" Remus asked, confused. 

"She _kicked _me!" James said crossly, rubbing his leg where Lily had kicked him. 

"Lily! That wasn't very nice," Sirius said. 

"What? I didn't _do _anything!" Lily said feigning innocence. 

Arabella raised her eyebrow but didn't say anything; she'd seen the whole thing anyway. Sabrina was too busy trying to engage Sirius into a conversation and Misty was being sympathetic to James's cause. 

"James, Lily's foot probably slipped or something, she didn't mean to! Are you ok though?" Misty asked in a sweet voice. 

"Yeah," James said glancing murderously at Lily, "I'm fine." 

At that point, before any more mayhem could happen, the Charms teacher walked in. The professor sat his briefcase and other things on his desk and sat down behind his desk. 

"Welcome back, students! I expect you all had wonderful summers?" Professor Hughes asked. 

A few scattered answers reached his ears, seeming to satisfy him. "All right! Time to refresh those minds! How about a pre-meditated pop quiz?" 

Professor Hughes was one of those teachers who went out of his way to make the class fun, and Lily had her sympathy for him because on the whole, the entire class was only interested in James and James's posse and what they might do next.

Loud groans came from all over the room, now enthusiastic. Professor Hughes grinned and grabbed the nearest stack of parchment. "Miss Evans! I don't believe I've heard from you yet! Come up here and help me pass these papers out, why don't you?" 

Lily reluctantly got up. Despite her fiery temper and quick tongue, she was still the top student (next to James, unfortunately) in the fourth year and a friend to all teachers. No one could figure this one out and they dismissed it as her method of not being kicked out of Hogwarts. And so far, there were no slipups. 

"Yeah go on up there, teacher's pet!" James hissed at her as she got up. She pretended to ignore that barb and kicked the back of his chair as a warning. 

"You can pass out to that side and I'll pass to this side," Professor Hughes said, pointing for Lily to go to her side of the room. 

She nodded and passed parchment to the first row and walked back to the second and then the third. She stepped back behind Sabrina and Arabella's chairs to get to Misty, James, Sirius and Remus. 

As she passed James, he suddenly stuck out his leg and she tripped, all of the papers fluttering to the great like giant snowflakes. The entire class burst out laughing as Lily tried to gather up the falling papers and salvage her dignity of being tripped by James. 

"Miss Evans? Are you all right?" Professor Hughes asked once the laughter had died down. 

Lily looked at James, who smirked back at her. "Yes Professor, I'm fine." 

Professor Hughes looked from Lily to James uncertainly but shrugged it off and told them to begin their tests. 

Lily slid into the only open seat, which was coincidentally next to James, and dipped her quill in her inkwell. 

The first question was easy and Lily easily scribbled down the answer. James sneaked a peek over her shoulder and quickly filled in his own version of Lily's answer. 

She looked up in thought to find James staring at her. 

"Jesus Potter, take a picture! It'll last longer!" Lily hissed. 

James crossed his eyes. "Wasn't looking at _you_, Evans! I was just simply innocently looking around the room and my eyes, to my poor misfortune, landed on you!" 

Lily's upper lip curled into a sneer. "Well _sorry, _Potter, but you're no prize either!"

"Want to repeat that?" James threatened. 

Lily smirked at him. "Sure! You're. No. Prize. Either." 

James kicked her shin and she yelled in pain. Instead of thinking of her actions, she leapt out of her seat and tackled James, knocking him to the floor. 

"Play with fire, Potter, and you get burned!" She shrieked loudly, groping around on the desk for her wand with her eyes still locked on his. 

James struggled and tried to get up but Lily's dead weight was on him and he couldn't get up no matter how hard he tried. 

"Is there a problem here?" Professor Hughes asked sharply, coming up to where Lily and James were sitting. 

Lily immediately crawled off of James and slinked back to her seat, smiling like everything was normal. "No, Professor!"   
  


James struggled to his feet, looking slightly ruffled. "No problem here, Professor!" 

Professor Hughes glared at them both. "Roughhousing in _my _classroom is not allowed, Miss Evans and Mister Potter."

"We weren't roughhousing, though!" Lily protested.

"I saw you jump on James, Miss Evans!" Professor Hughes accused in a deadly calm voice.

Lily dropped her head in shame, though flushing from anger at the dispersed snickers in the classroom. 

"I will not tolerate this from either of you two! I will be rewarding you both with a detention. One week with me after dinner," Professor Hughes said. He looked regretful having to award detentions to the two most prestigious students at Hogwarts. 

"Detention?" James asked in disbelief. He'd gotten a few detentions in his life, but for an entire week…?

Lily's eyes filled with hot, angry tears. This was all James's fault! Why did he provoke her so? 

"Do you both understand?" Professor Hughes asked harshly. 

"Yes sir," they mumbled in unison. Professor Hughes lingered for a few moments, staring at Lily and James and then went back down to his desk and helped a few people out with questions they had. 

"Oh, and you two will see me after class!" he called offhandedly. 

Lily sniffled miserably. "Yes, sir." 

"Poor Lily," Misty said sympathetically, once everyone had handed in his or her tests. 

"Yeah. Detention for a week, with him!" Sirius said. 

Lily sniffled loudly again, trying to prevent the tears from spilling over and saving her reputation of not crying in public. 

"Lily? Are you ok?" Arabella asked. 

"Yeah, you don't look good," Sabrina commented. 

"Nothing's wrong with me! I'm fine, just fine!" Lily snapped, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand. 

All of them looked at each other in shock and decided to leave Lily be. James grinned at Sirius and Remus: Lily Evans, Miss Perfect and destined to become Head Girl, had detention! With him! 

"Detention already?" Sirius asked, grinning. 

"That's awful. I mean really awful, James, why don't you just leave her alone?" Remus snapped, most uncharacteristically of him. 

Sirius and James looked taken aback. "Jeez Reemy, all I did was light the fuse! She was the one who exploded!" 

"You started it, didn't you?" Remus accused. 

"Remus! How can you _say _such a thing?" James asked in a false injured tone. 

"Yeah Remus? How _can _you be so insensitive? Obviously James has the _biggest _crush on Lily and is only trying to express his inner feelings in a childish manner!" Sirius said knowledgably. 

Remus and James gaped at Sirius. 

"Sirius, do you have some sort of untapped source of knowledge somewhere?" Remus asked, completely confused. 

Sirius grinned sheepishly. "Um… no! Sorry, must've had a brain lapse."

James looked livid. "How can you, my best friend, accuse me of liking _Evans_?" James asked hotly. 

Sirius admired his nails in a blasé sort of way. "You can tell! Its _so _obvious."

James turned on Remus who seemed to shrink back his wrath. "And what's your input, Reemy?" 

"Me?" Remus squeaked, "well I – um… I – " 

But Remus was saved because the bell rang for the class to be over. Sirius and Remus gave James a look as though to say 'please understand we don't not want to hang around with someone who's going to explode' and ran off. James sat there, quietly stewing in his own thoughts and packing up his books. 

"Mister Potter and Miss Evans, may I see you before you leave?" Professor Hughes called from his papers. 

Lily shot James a look and swung her bag over her shoulder and sauntered down to where Professor Hughes was staring at them expectantly. 

"You understand the errors of your ways, do you not?" Professor Hughes asked severely lifting up his thin-wired spectacles from his eyes. 

"Yes sir," they mumbled remorsefully, looking at the floor. 

"You will both start your detentions tonight after dinner in this classroom precisely at 8:00 sharp. If you are late, 50 points will be revoked from Gryffindor," he said in the same severe tone. 

Lily looked at James with hatred once again renewed in her eyes. James just shrugged. 

"You may go now," Professor Hughes said, shooing them away. 

Lily nearly flew off but James grabbed her arm once they were outside the classroom.

"Back off Potter, you've caused enough trouble for one day!" Lily snarled, wrenching her arm away. 

"Look all I want to do is – "

"What?" she sneered, "apologize? Thanks but no thanks!" 

James straightened up a bit. "As if! I wouldn't apologize to you for anything, you get what you deserve!" 

"The same goes for you as well, obviously!" Lily shot back. 

James crossed his arms firmly across his chest. "Look before you really get a bad reputation for being the snotty bitch I know you are, let me just say I'm not looking forward to detention tonight."

"Wow, Potter, good job! You've finally figured out that detention is a _bad_ thing! Maybe if you didn't have such a love for breaking rules you wouldn't have that problem!" Lily spat. 

James rolled his eyes. "I mean, I'm not looking forward to detention with _you_. So lets just say if you get out of my way I'll stay out of yours." 

"Isn't that always the case?" Lily asked briskly before turning back to the dining hall. 

_God_, James thought, _detention will be hell. _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**Woohoo! Yay! Another chapter, another… fight thingy! Lol. R/R if you like or if you hate or you just… um…want to review! Thanks! **


	19. Sirius Could Be Onto Something

_A/n; _** Important news! I, IceAmethyst, have sent a letter to Elijah Wood! No, I'm not stalking him…yet (bwahahahaha) but I did tell him I liked his movies a lot. And I left no phone number. DARN! But I hope I get the letter back soon so I can share with you guys what it said and can gloat! Teeheehee! No, I wouldn't do that. **

**Wish Emerald Eyes a happy one-year anniversary on September 16! That's right: for ONE ENTIRE YEAR I've been working on this project! Hoorah! * throws confetti around * **

*** high fives Beta Reader * **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"So are you serious? You're actually going to detention?" Misty asked for the third time. 

"Yes! Why is that so hard to believe?" Lily cried in exasperation. 

"Because you're _Lily Evans _and Lily Evans doesn't get detention!" Arabella said pointedly.

"Are you saying I'm a total goody-goody?" Lily asked in a shocked voice. 

"Well, you _do _get top marks –" Sabrina began. 

"And you _do _sign up for all the extracurricular activities! You were the one who suggested dueling last year!" Misty cut in. 

Lily looked defenseless. "Well I – I –" 

"Chill! It could be much, _much _worse," Arabella said calmly, taking a bite of her salad. 

"How can it get any worse?" Lily asked in a panicky voice. 

"You could be Severus Snape!" Sabrina said with a look of distaste on her face. 

All four girls shuddered. Severus Snape was a sallow-faced 'little shit' (as James Potter labeled him) with a distaste for Gryffindors and Muggles.

"Yes, I suppose that poor creature has it worse than me," Lily said feeling slight sympathy for him, even though he hated her and the feeling was mutual. 

"No… you live like a queen and he's the scum under your feet," Misty said. 

"Fine, whatever! Just tell me how to survive detention tonight with Potter!" Lily said, dismissing the idea. 

Sabrina, Misty and Arabella all shrugged and pretended to be very interested in their lunches. 

"Truth to tell Lily, we've never actually _been _in detention!" Arabella said, wiping the corners of her mouth with her napkin. 

"Well it isn't that hard to figure out, is it? I mean all you do is go there and clean things right?" Lily asked out of her own naivety. 

"Actually I heard one time someone actually had to go into the Forbidden Forest!" Sabrina said with an air of casualty. 

Lily gulped. "But they wouldn't doom me to that fate. . .would they?" 

"I don't know… the guy they sent out there was a pretty good student," Arabella said. She looked particularly thoughtful, obviously racking her brains trying to think of the name. 

"But that was pretty severe! They'd never do that unless it was serious," Misty said hastily, elbowing Arabella sharply in the ribs. 

Arabella shot her a nasty glare. 

"And at least you'll have some companionship!" Sabrina said brightly. 

"What? James?" Lily asked acidly. 

"Yeah! He counts, doesn't he?" Misty asked. 

"Absolutely not!" Lily said loudly. 

"Of course! We should've known this by now!" Arabella said sarcastically. 

"Please forgive our ignorance, Lily," Sabrina said in the same tone of voice. 

Lily snorted. She abruptly got up to fetch her books for the afternoon classes from her room. 

"Where're you going?" Misty asked. "Did we upset you?" 

Lily smiled wryly. "Nothing upsets me." 

She pushed her chair in and hitched up her bag around her left shoulder. Despite the fact that she was going to serve detention that night with James, she was in surprisingly good spirits. 

She turned the corner to go up the stairs when she heard three male voices whispering from behind a rather large statue. 

Intrigued, a bad feeling plagued her, guessing who was behind there. 

"But what if we get caught?" one voice whispered anxiously.

"We _can't _get caught, this plan is practically foolproof!" the other exclaimed confidently.

"That's what you said last time and we got detention for three days!" 

"Well this is bound to work; the Slytherins will be sleeping!" 

"What if some of them aren't sleeping, though?" 

"Sirius, must you be the downer of the group?" 

Lily had heard enough, once she'd heard the boy mention the name Sirius. 

"Hey guys! What's up?" Lily called out in a happy voice. 

Three heads peeked out and Lily's guess hit the nail on the head. It was James, Sirius and Remus, all looking quite guilty and quite startled. 

"Hi Lily! We were just umm – talking!" Remus said quickly. 

James scowled. "You always show up at the worst times, you know that?" 

"You betcha," Lily said, winking. "What're you doing back there?" 

"Inspecting the floors!" Sirius said automatically. Lily smirked at the lameness of his cover-up story. 

"Floors, hmm?" she said sweetly. 

"Yeah! They're really squeaky! Can't have squeaky floors, you know!" Sirius said in a happy voice. 

James and Remus exchanged wry looks. 

"What're you _really _doing back there? You know I don't buy those stories you feed me," Lily lectured, putting her hands on her hips. 

"Nothing! Ever heard of minding your own business?" James said huffily. 

"No! Gee, James, what does that mean?" Lily asked, pretending to be baffled by this concept. 

"It means shove off and go concentrate on your own petty problems," James said gritting his teeth. 

"He's got a point, Lily; why don't you go off somewhere else where you won't tarnish your perfect reputation?" Sirius said in a tone most unlike himself. 

Lily was shocked at his response. His expression and his tone and her eyes filled up with tears. Sirius was never mean to her! 

"All right… but I'll find out what you're doing sooner or later!" She threatened as she tried to blink away her tears without letting them fall. She turned on her heel, hearing them snicker behind her. 

She approached the picture of the Fat Lady and found her to be sleeping. 

"Who sleeps at a time like this?" Lily asked herself, wondering what she could do. 

"Monkey tail?" She said the password tentatively. 

No answer. 

"MONKEY TAIL," She exclaimed a bit louder. 

Still no response, save for the Fat Lady's loud snores. 

"MONKEY FRICKING TAIL!" Lily hollered. The Fat Lady woke up with a start and looked at Lily rudely. 

"No need for profanity, dear!" She squawked irritably as she swung open to let Lily in. 

"Thank you _very _much," Lily said sarcastically and trudged up to her room. She dropped her books in a neat pile on the bed and went over to the mirror to check her reflection. 

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall," Lily intoned, smiling. 

A perfectly chipper reflection of her stared back, her eyes a bit sleepy still but nonetheless happy. Satisfied, Lily got her Transfiguration and Potions books from her nightstand and went downstairs to the near empty Gryffindor Common Room. 

There was a small, squat boy standing near the portrait, talking to some girl. The girl, Lily recognized as she approached, was Olive Hornsby and she was talking to Peter Pettigrew, the boy from her Potions class. 

They seemed a bit frightened of Lily and stepped back a few steps. 

"Hey guys!" Lily said happily as she walked past them. 

Peter waved timidly. "Hi Lily." 

Olive only squeaked and said a short 'hi', cowering behind her large stack of books in her arms. 

She stepped outside of the portrait; Peter and Olive staring at her with adoring expressions on their faces, as though a famous star had just walked through the common room. 

Walking briskly back to where she'd seen James, Sirius and Remus, she was determined to give a little Lily Evans brand of inspection. She dropped her books on the floor and went over to the statue. They weren't there but there was a scrap piece of parchment that certainly looked curious to Lily. She picked it up, reading what it said. 

To her astonishment, it didn't have any words on it save the dots moving around on the parchment with labels on it. Those labels had names like Professor McGonagall who was walking around her Transfiguration classroom, Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy who were sitting in the Great Hall, obviously still enjoying whatever part of lunch was left. 

"Whatever this is, Potter, you're in for it majorly!" Lily murmured to herself. If she guessed correctly, this little piece of parchment would land him in an eternity of detentions. She rolled it up and put it in the inside pocket of her robes. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

The day whizzed by and still the thought of that parchment plagued her mind. Though she thought about it consistently, James didn't seem to give it another thought - he was still his usual flirty, charming self. 

Lily almost had the nerve to go up to him and ask him if he was missing anything important. You know, like a certain magical object that was obviously their doing. 

"Lily? You ok? You seem kind of preoccupied," Misty asked as they walked back up to their dormitory. 

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine! You know, just thinking about – um – detention," Lily laughed. 

"Don't worry about it, Lily; Professor Hughes likes you and James too much to do anything terrible!" Misty said, completely oblivious. 

"Oh yes, Professor Hughes likes us _so much_ that we got _detention_!" Lily said dryly. 

Misty shrugged. "Maybe he's just going to assign you some tough assignment and let you off with a warning." 

"I highly doubt that," Lily muttered as they walked up to the Fat Lady portrait and told her the password, climbing in through the entrance. 

All of the students, relieved that classes were over for the day, were relaxing on couches and chairs in the Common Room, laughing and chatting. 

"How much do I love weekends?" Misty said with a smile. 

"Mm, yes, spending the weekend with James without any teacher supervision is always an exciting experience," Lily commented while walking up with Misty to the girl's dorm. 

"Imagine that! Having detention on a Friday night," Misty said. "I feel really sorry for you." 

"Empathy is a wasted emotion," Lily said, shrugging. 

Misty dumped her pile of books on the ground, landing with a loud thud on the wooden floor. 

"Ugh. I must smell _awful _after dealing with those stupid Mandrakes. Why in the world are we studying those things again?" Misty complained, taking off her robe so she was just wearing her school uniform. 

"I know! Just because that daft girl from Slytherin fainted last year from touching one doesn't mean we have to repeat the whole lesson," Lily grumbled, hanging up her robes in the closet. 

"I'm going to go take a shower and I'll meet you and Arabella and Sabrina downstairs for dinner, all right?" Misty said and grabbed her makeup bag from her trunk. 

"Bye –" Lily said as Misty walked out of the dorm, shutting the door behind her. Lily flopped on her bed, alone at last. In a moment of temporary brain lapse, she forgot about the parchment. When she remembered and went to go retrieve it, though, it wasn't there! She frantically searched through all of her books, papers and her entire bag but it wasn't there. Somehow, it had disappeared. 

"Darn it!" Lily said loudly. That was the closest she ever got to a swear. "I so desperately wanted to catch James for something!" 

Lily figured instead that she'd just ask him about it at detention; this way he couldn't avoid the question because he had nowhere to go. 

"Lily? Are you up here?" Arabella asked, coming back from Divination. 

"Yeah I'm here," Lily called. She crossed her legs and sat down on the bed. 

"Where'd Misty and Sabrina go?" Arabella asked, jumping on her own bed. 

"Misty hit the showers; Mandrakes today," Lily said. 

"Ooh… I took one right after lunch," Arabella said knowingly. 

"Isn't Sabrina dating that Ravenclaw 5th year on the Quidditch team?" Lily asked. 

"Yeah. He's a complete moron," Arabella laughed. 

Lily smiled. "Then she's probably out at practice with him." 

"Most definitely," Arabella nodded. She paused for a few moments, as though she were contemplating something. 

"Lily?" Arabella asked. 

"Yeah?" Lily replied. 

"Do you think that Sabrina has – changed?" Arabella asked, delicately choosing her words. 

Lily raised one eyebrow. "How so?" 

Arabella looked at her bedspread and traced the outline of it with her finger. "Um… well…" 

"Arabella," Lily said in a firm voice. 

"She's kind of a – " 

"A _what_, exactly?" Lily asked sharply. 

"Flirt," Arabella said lamely, not saying the other word she was thinking of. Lily was still temperamental on the subject. 

"Well of course she is!" Lily said rolling her eyes. 

"Just making sure you knew," Arabella said hastily before Lily could cotton on. 

"Oh," Lily said. 

Silence. 

"Let's go eat, I'm starved!" Arabella said, breaking the silence.

"Yes! Dinner. Dinner is a good suggestion," Lily answered quickly, glad the moment of awkwardness had passed. 

They went downstairs just as James and Sirius were coming in from Quidditch practice. James's scarlet Quidditch robes were sticking to him from sweat and his face was flushed and sweaty but that didn't stop the girls from suddenly rushing to him like he was a magnet. 

"Ugh. Don't you get tired of this?" James asked Sirius as several girls grinned and batted their eyelashes at him, trying to engage him in a conversation. 

Sirius grinned wolfishly. "Nah." 

James smiled back. "I didn't think so." 

"Oh, look! There's your most favorite person in the whole world!" Sirius exclaimed happily, pointing to where Lily and Arabella were trying to make their way through the huddle of girls. 

"Oh joy!" James said, rolling his eyes. 

"Lily! Arabella! Over here!" Sirius said loudly while waving his hands around. 

They looked at him like he was crazy. "Come on, Sirius, I wouldn't touch Potter with a ten foot pole!" Lily shouted with a laugh. 

"The same goes for you, Evans!" James shot back. No matter how badly Quidditch practice went now that they were getting into cold November weather, he still got the biggest kick out of taunting Lily Evans. 

"Come on James, lets just go!" Sirius said dragging him over to the portrait hole and out into the chilly corridor. 

"That is so frustrating. I get so tired of girls swarming me," James said looking disgusted. 

Sirius looked surprised and didn't bother hiding it. "Really? That's not what you usually say." 

"Well I'm in a bad mood today," James said heavily. 

"Are you letting detention get to you?" Sirius asked incredulously. 

"No!" James said a bit too quickly for his liking. 

Sirius smirked knowingly. 

James looked at his friend smirk and suddenly he realized something. "Oh my God, Sirius. You think I like _Lily Evans_ don't you?"  

Sirius pretended to be taken aback. "Why James! How absolutely blunt of you!" 

"You think I like Evans, don't you?" James repeated ominously. His eyes narrowed to slits. 

"Come on James, buddy, it's pretty obvious. The pranks, the insults, the – "

"New makeover I'm going to give your face if you even _think _of that again," James spat.

Sirius grinned nervously. "Well, it'll give you something to think about during detention." 

"What's Potter going to think about?" Lily asked as she and Arabella followed them out of the portrait hole. 

"Nothing!" James snapped. 

"Yeah, I didn't think I heard right when I heard the words 'Potter' and 'think' in the same sentence," Lily smirked. 

"You're so bloody cute," James said sarcastically. 

"Must you guys do this every time we decide to hang out?" Arabella asked in a frustrated tone. 

"Excuse me? We do not _hang out_, Bella," Lily said icily. 

"Well, you're always at each other's throats whenever the _rest of us _want to hang out," Arabella said neutrally, rephrasing her previous sentence. 

"What do you expect? They're Lily Evans and James Potter, greatest of enemies!" Sirius pronounced grandly. 

"Do you even remember when they were friends?" Arabella asked Sirius. 

Lily and James both had expressions of extreme mortification on their faces. "NO!" 

Sirius grinned. "Oh, I remember those times… tragic really, you guys really could've been something…"

And laughing silently to themselves, Sirius and Arabella walked down to dinner with Lily and James standing in the middle of the corridor looking at the turned backs of their friends. 

"I hate you. I hate you so much," Lily said tightly, shaking her head. 

"You want to know what Sirius told me?" James asked, with the feeling mutual. 

"Not really," Lily said. 

"Well that's too bad because I'll tell you anyway." 

"Shut up Potter! LAAAAAAAAAA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Lily yelled and ran down to dinner with her hands over her ears. 

"I can't believe I am going to have to put up with her tonight," James muttered. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**Ok, next chapter is the detention sorry!!! **


	20. A Very Surprising Detention

**A/N:****All right! Who's ready for another year of Emerald Eyes? * raises hand * I am! And there are going to be SO many different things happening, I hope this story isn't just like everyone else's! That would suck and we're trying for individuality, aren't we Beta Reader? **

*** Beta Reader nods enthusiastically ***

**And, we've reached 20 chapters! HOORAH!**

**I'm going to go reward myself with a cupcake. **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

8:00 rolled around much too fast for Lily's liking and before she knew it, she was saying goodbye to her friends and walking (much to her distaste) with James back to the Charms classroom. 

"You're an utter prat, and if you do even _one _thing I'll hex you so hard –" 

"Trust me, Carrots, I don't want to socialize with you," James said blandly, calling her by one of his many nicknames. 

"Don't call me Carrots," Lily said immediately. 

"Ok, Princess," James replied and couldn't help but grin at how peeved she looked. 

"And since we're on speaking terms, when're you going to change my bloody hair back?" Lily asked primly. 

"It has a twenty-four hour spell on it, Princess, I can't do anything about it!" James said tragically in a mock sincere voice. 

Lily bit down a scream of rage. "You mean I've got to live with this until I go to bed?" 

"Yeah. And since I'm the worst at Charms, you might be stuck with it until someone does something about it!" James said with an evil grin. 

Lily whacked him upside the head. "You're an utter, insufferable git!" 

"And you're a petite flower with the sharpest thorns I've ever seen," James replied. 

They turned a bend and arrived at the Charms classroom at precisely 8:01. Professor Hughes looked quite different not wearing his half-moon spectacles with just a sweater and khaki pants - no robes. 

"'Lo Professor!" Lily chirped happily. She might be serving detention but she was still the best student in their year. 

"Hello Lily, James," he said, nodding. 

"So what's the deal, Professor? Cleaning the desks? Washing blackboards? Truth to tell, its all a bit old," James intoned grandiosely, completely full of himself. It came off to Lily that he was bragging in an unsaid sort of way. 

"If it's so old, I expect the entire classroom _and _the blackboards to be spotless, Mr. Potter," the professor said sharply. 

Lily gulped. "B – both?" 

"Yes Miss Evans, you didn't think I'd let you off easily because you're both exceptional students?" Professor Hughes said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. 

_Actually sir, that'd be about correct, _Lily thought bitterly. 

"I'll check up on you regularly and if I hear anything going on, I'll give you both detention for two more weeks!" He said on a final threatening tone and walked down the darkened corridor. 

Lily sank to the floor with her hands over her face. "My career as a perfect student just went down the drain." 

"Come on Evans, stop being such a bloody melodramatic! It's _one _freaking detention," James said, rolling his eyes. 

"Yes! And that one freaking detention just put a mar on my perfect record!" Lily moaned. Faint tears stung her eyes.

James didn't feel a bit of sympathy for her; one detention was absolutely nothing big at all. Ten detentions in two months was something to be proud about! He, Remus and Sirius were trying to break the school record for most detentions. Professor McGonagall told them that the school didn't have a school record but that they were shooting for setting one. 

"Evans, let's just do this and get it over with. I really don't want to be here right now," James said. He walked nonchalantly into the classroom. 

Lily got up and followed him in before getting out her wand. 

James looked at her like she'd been beamed down from another planet. "What're you doing with that?" 

"Um… it's my _wand_. Yeah, we use it in all magical classes?" Lily said like he was stupid. 

"No shit Evans, but we don't clean with wands. We clean with Muggle devices," James said gesturing towards a bucket filled with soapy water and two sponges. 

"Darn it!" Lily wanted to curse so badly but she was afraid James might tease her about her squeaky clean image she seemed to have. 

"Take it and get working," James said while handing her a sponge. She stuck her tongue out at him once his back was turned. 

Lily dipped the sponge into the soapy water, trailing the sleeves of her robe in the bucket. She walked over to the blackboard and began scrubbing away the chalk writing. The soap trickled down the blackboard in great foamy rivers and dripped down Lily's arms. Lily scowled and cursed herself for putting her robes back on; she took them off and laid them on the back of a chair. She rolled up the sleeves of her white Oxford shirt and pulled her hair back into a messy bun and started up again. 

James couldn't be more furious: the fact that he had to serve a detention with Lily and the fact that she'd actually do what she was told boiled his rage to straining point. Not to mention the fact that they couldn't fool around like he did with Sirius during detention. He chose that exact moment to look up from scrubbing off 'Tammy and Daniel 4 Ever' on a desk and saw the most extraordinary thing he'd seen in his four years at Hogwarts. 

Lily Evans. 

Maybe it was the lighting or maybe it was then in that exact moment she'd struck something in him, but suddenly he found he was looking at Lily Evans (Lily Isabella Evans. LILY EVANS, DAMMIT!) in a completely different way. Why had he not noticed her before? She wasn't exactly the person he'd want to end up with, but hell, she blew the competition right out of the water anyway. She was so _short _in their first year but she'd shot up. Not gangly, definitely not gangly. Lily was elegant and petite, like any flower would be. The way James figured it, the only reason he was staring like a bumbling idiot at her, was because of her sudden womanly figure. It made James want to burst out laughing and not stop for days to think that Lily had matured into somewhat of a young lady, but she had. She had the longest legs at Hogwarts (_and it's a pity no one ever sees them in that skirt_, he thought wryly) and the creamiest complexion that didn't need a spot of makeup. Her red hair had lost none of its luster - although it was hard to tell that now, with its current bright blue color - and it was one thing that kept her originality fresh. Her green eyes sparkled like never before, and she had full cherry red lips that never seemed to stop smiling. 

"Potter! Hello?" Lily asked rudely waving her wand in front of his face. 

"What?" He snapped. 

"You were – you were staring at me," Lily said, blushing slightly. 

"Must've had a memory lapse. Who'd want to stare at you?" He commented, continuing his scrubbing. 

"Mm, that's what I thought," Lily said with a smirk. 

"When did you grow up?" He asked, and then bit his tongue. That was completely off topic. 

Lily dropped her sponge in shock. "What'd you say?" 

"I – I – nothing!" James said. He bent back down and began scrubbing the desks once more. "Nothing at all." 

"What'd you _say_?" Lily demanded, putting her hands on her hips. 

"I said, 'when did you grow up?'" James repeated, looking at the floor. 

"It's called puberty James, want me to explain it to Mister five-year-old?" Lily snapped. 

James blushed crimson. What was up with her tonight, making him blush like an idiot adolescent? 

"Aw, it's OK wittle Jamesie! Sooner or later you'll go through it! Though, more later than sooner," she said with a laugh. 

"Sod off Evans, I was just curious about why all of the sudden you've grown up. What'd you do, get plastic surgery?" He jeered. 

"I've got natural beauty, unlike most of your fake girlfriends," Lily said coolly. 

"Yeah well I'm sure all of your past boyfriends were hyped up on steroids, so don't start," James said. 

"Yes James, they were hyped on steroids so they could play _Quidditch_. Jesus, how hard can it be to fly on a stick of wood?" Lily asked him sardonically. 

"A lot harder than you think!" James retorted. 

"Yes it's incredibly difficult. But then again, it must be for you considering you've got the intelligence of a parrot!" Lily said with a grin. 

"See? We never get _anything done_ without arguing," James said throwing up his hands. 

Lily picked up her sponge and went back to the blackboard, ignoring his last comment. 

"You know, I really can't remember what it was like to friends with you!" James said truthfully. 

Lily turned around. "I can." 

"You can?" He asked blankly. 

"Yes, I can. And I want to know what happened to that boy I used to be friends with," Lily said in a serious voice. 

"He got a life?" James cracked. 

"Haha. I suppose I should've gotten used to the fact that I can't have a serious conversation with you," Lily said and turned back to the blackboard. 

"Come on Evans, I'll be serious," James said. 

"No you won't!" Lily said loudly. 

"All right. You want to know the reason why we aren't friends anymore?" 

"Yes, it'd be appreciated," came Lily's sarcastic remark. 

James sank into a chair and propped his elbows on the table, running his hands through his messy jet-black hair. "The truth is I don't know, ok?"

"You don't know?" Lily asked, genuinely confused. 

"I don't know. I guess the reason is because we've never been able to agree on anything and I've just stopped trying," James said. 

"You're fishing around for an answer, I know it," Lily said with a slight shake of her head. 

"Well bloody hell Evans, what the hell do you want me to say? That I hate your guts?" He asked frustrated. 

"Well I hate your guts too then, to be even!" Lily said and spun around so fast she nearly hit her face on the blackboard. 

Silence settled over the room and the only thing you could hear was the sound of the sponge swishing against the tables and blackboard. They could both sense the tension in the room but neither one talked. 

"Professor Hughes will be back soon," James said quietly after a while. 

"Good. I can't wait to get out of here," Lily said in a normal voice. 

"It hasn't been the most enjoyable evening," James said lightly. 

Lily sighed and went over to dip her sponge into the bucket and just as she bent over, James dropped his sopping wet sponge on her back. She shrieked and jerked up, soap spilling down her back. 

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT FOR?" She hollered lividly. James shot her an innocent look. 

"I didn't do anything Lily, I –" 

"YOU ARE SUCH A JERK! You're right James, we can't do anything without fighting and you know who's fault that is?" 

James shrugged. 

"IT'S YOURS!" She bellowed and took the entire bucket of soap and poured it on top of James's head. 

"EVANS! You stupid git, get back here!" He yelled and whipped out his wand. She ran around to the teacher's desk and ducked so that only her head and her sopping blue hair could be seen. 

"What're you going to do, Potter?" She said. 

"I am going to hex you so bad, it'll take a year for them to wear off!" He threatened. Lily grinned and decided to play a little game of chase. 

"Catch me if you can, Potter!" She yelled and ran to the side of the classroom. Turning deftly on her heel, she shot a spell in his direction. It missed and hit the wall behind him, leaving a gaping hole through the stone. 

"Evans, I'm not going to toy around with you," James said through gritted teeth. At that very moment, though, they both decided to rush forward to the center of the room. Lily slid over the wet, soapy floor and frantically tried to regain her balance by swinging her arms around. James crashed into Lily and they both toppled to the floor. 

Professor Hughes ran into the room at that time and found quite a sight. The blackboards and desks were only partially cleaned and soapy water was running in small rivers between the cracks of the floor. The bucket of water was overturned, as well as several desks and chairs, and papers were scattered throughout the whole scene. Finally, James Potter lying on top of Lily Evans, not to mention a rather unattractive looking hole in the wall. If any other teacher were in his place, they would've fainted to at least see the two most highly regarded students in their year in such a position. 

Lily shrieked in disgust. "Get off me, you ogre!" 

It was more of a panicked scream than anything because as soon as they had made even the slightest contact, sparks flew. And they weren't angry sparks. Lily was so petrified by what had just happened she couldn't even think of a good insult. All she could see was James… and his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes… 

"Miss Evans and Mister Potter, what in the name of Merlin is going on here?" Professor Hughes asked, not trying hard to conceal his obvious anger. 

James blinked a few times as though coming out of a trance and slowly got off Lily. "Sorry, Professor, I – "

"You _what _exactly, James? YOU WHAT?" He bellowed. James winced. 

"We had a bit of an – an argument – " 

"And decided to completely _sabotage _my classroom? Never in all of my years of teaching have I come across two students who had such a strong dislike…" He trailed off, nearly bursting into tears. 

Lily got up, embarrassed beyond what she had ever thought mortally possible. She would _never _live this one down if the students ever caught wind of what had taken place that night. 

"Sorry Professor, we'll – we'll clean it up – "

"NO! For the love of God – just – just get out of my classroom," Professor Hughes said tiredly and dismissed them with a wave of his hand. 

Lily went to go fetch her robes and she and James walked guiltily out of the classroom. Neither one spoke for a few moments. 

"Some detention," James said in a fake bright voice. 

Lily was still in stunned silence and didn't comment. 

"Hey Evans, your hair's back to normal!" James commented, picking up a soaked strand of fiery hair. 

"Yay," Lily said without enthusiasm. 

"Aw, do you feel guilty about what happened back there?" James teased, although he had a pretty good idea about what she was thinking about. 

"I suppose," Lily lied. Although at the present time, Professor Hughes was the least of her worries. For the first time since Lily could remember, she wasn't thinking about her grades. She was thinking about a damned good lie to tell people about her and James. 

"Pretty creepy what happened back there, huh?" James said. 

"Oh my God, Potter, you have absolutely no idea," Lily said. She was only vaguely aware that she was shaking from all the different emotions flooding her at once: fear, shock, abhorrence, embarrassment, and anticipation… 

"That's not usually what happens on a normal detention," James said with a small laugh. 

Lily nodded like she was hypnotized. "I understand." 

"Um… look… about that… I really didn't mean to do that," James mumbled. 

Lily laughed out loud. "No kidding! I don't think anyone, save you, would _ever _do that!" 

"Monkey tail," James muttered as they approached the Fat Lady. 

The common room, to Lily's luck, was completely empty. They stood there for a few moments, debating on what to say. 

"Goodnight – I guess," James said awkwardly. 

Lily smiled woodenly. "Night." 

They both ran up the stairs to their dormitories so fast someone probably would have assumed their pants were on fire. 

Breathing hard, Lily shut the door and ran into her bed, pulling the covers over her head and wishing that the floor would open up and swallow her whole. 

"Lily? That you?" Sabrina muttered sleepily, propping herself up on her elbows. 

"Go away," Lily said in a dead voice. 

"Lily! You're back! Now you can spill on _all _the juicy details of detention with James Potter!" Misty said, perfectly chipper considering it was almost midnight. 

"I'd rather not talk about it," Lily said in a quiet but firm tone. 

"Guys, don't press her. She'll feel better in the morning," came Arabella's sleepy reply. 

All the girls sighed, resigned, and there was much movement in their beds trying to get back to sleep. Lily rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. 

Why did she have to keep replaying what had happened back there? James had knocked into her, she'd fallen and he'd landed on top of her. She suddenly got chills as she recalled the warmth of his body and how serene she'd felt, looking into his eyes… 

_Jesus Christ, Evans, you're losing it_, she thought miserably. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

A/N: Well, well, well. What do we have here? A bit of L/J for you there but I think you'll be dead surprised what happens next! And this story is FAR from over, so don't think they're just going to go from there, oh no, it's much more complicated than that! * laughs evilly * Mwahahahaha! 


	21. Meet the New Students or Lily Gets A Bad...

_A/n; _**Hoorah! Wasn't that a fun detention? I wouldn't mind having a detention with James Potter… but of course Lily did =) Thanks for all of your reviews, keep them coming!**

**Just a few things I'd like to comment on:**

**OMG: First of all, TEN REVIEWS IN TWO DAYS IS JUST… AMAZING! I checked my reviews and I thought I'd get about two, lol, and I shrieked when I saw it was like, ten! So that's good! I encourage that! :)**

**And to Sorrow Personified: A lot of people believe in God so it wouldn't be an exception at Hogwarts just because it's a magical school. Remember that a lot of wizards come from muggle families, and they wouldn't just abandon their values because they're learning magic. Also, by the age fourteen, the only thing people seemed to be obsessed with is the opposite sex. I should know; I _am _fourteen. Not to mention the fact that some girls, by the time they're fourteen, have already matured almost into an adult. And I agree with you when I say that I hate cliché stories where Lily and James fall in love at first sight: and I'm here to say that this isn't going to _be _a cliché story and he did _not _fall in love with Lily. May I repeat this: HE DID NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH LILY :) He's simply noticing her. And thanks for that bit about Olive; I've wanted to know about that for a while! **

**Updated Author's Note: 9-24-02 **

**Also to Sorrow Personified, strangely enough, (hmm… I think I should start responding to reviews, what do you think?) Um, thanks for that link to that story! I happen to _love _the Ultimate Harry Potter Cliché Catalogue!!!!!!!!!! GO READ IT!!!!!!!! It's bloody hilarious. And I realize that most of the Lily/James stories are ridiculously cliché, but I assure you mine is not going to end in a pleasant way. But, as you know, if you are a Harry Potter rabid fan like me, you know Lily and James do not meet a fortunate ending to their lives. **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Lily tossed to the other side of the bed for the fiftieth time that night; she could _not _go to sleep. Arabella, at one point, even got up and told her stop rustling the covers because she couldn't go to sleep either. 

Hot and bothered, Lily finally threw off her covers, letting the night air cool her down. She looked over at the Muggle clock she brought with her to Hogwarts. The ticking of it soothed her and usually helped her sleep, but not tonight. Lily didn't think she'd ever sleep again. She was doomed to be haunted by James Potter's eyes for the rest of her life. 

_Stupid bugger, who's he think he is_? she thought irritably. 

It was their fourth year at Hogwarts. _Four years _she'd known him and they'd gotten along horribly, but now – now there was that detention to put on top of all of that. And Lily wasn't quite sure _what _happened there. It scared her out of her wits; everything had changed so much since first year and that was the only thing she depended on that stayed the same: her and James's relationship. 

Sabrina, Misty and Arabella had been her friends through thick and thin since first year. Boyfriends had come and gone, pranks had been successful and unsuccessful. But Sabrina seemed more distant than the others; always off with older students and staying out late. Change was always welcomed in, but Lily hoped it didn't stay for an extended visit. 

Bearing this in mind, Lily slowly drifted off into an uneasy sleep… 

--

James sat up in his bed, unable to handle closing his eyes and seeing nothing but Lily and her gorgeous green eyes any longer. 

"Sirius!" He hissed into the dark room. 

"Hmm? What?" Sirius muttered sleepily. 

"I can't sleep," James replied. 

Sirius yawned loudly. "That's _great_, James… go to sleep." 

"I _can't_, Si," James whined. 

Sirius said up in his bed, stretching and rubbing his eyes. "Is there something really bothering you, or can it wait? Sirius is very tired right now, and he would like to get some sleep. Unlike a certain friend of his."

"No, Sirius, it can't wait. It really can't," James said in an anguished sort of voice. 

"Come on, out with it, it's 3 A.M.!" Sirius said in a shocked voice, looking at the clock. 

James ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head even though Sirius couldn't see him. "All right. You know how I had detention with Evans tonight, right?" 

"Yeah," Sirius said tiredly. 

"Something happened, Si, something huge. I mean, this realization hit me right during the middle of detention when I looked up from scrubbing the desks: Lily Evans was standing right in front of me and –" James broke off, too embarrassed to admit further. 

"And?" Sirius pushed, suddenly wide-awake. James thought he could almost see his eyes shining in anticipation.

"She looked like a goddess. A bloody goddess," he groaned, burying his face in his hands. 

Sirius grinned triumphantly in the dark. "I knew it." 

"You knew what?"

"I knew you liked her," Sirius exclaimed, beside himself. 

"Argh! I do not like her! She's just the most bloody gorgeous girl in school!" James said, realizing too late that didn't make much sense. It was true, however, that James really hated Lily and he hoped it was mutual. 

"That doesn't make any sense, James," Sirius informed him. 

"It's true! I mean, she's pretty but I'd _never _date her," James said. 

Sirius scratched his head. "Right…"

James sighed. "Never mind, Sirius."

"Ok," Sirius chirped, "but I honestly think you like her."

"Why would I? She's a spoiled brat!" James exclaimed. 

"Because! Like you said, she's gorgeous and she's smart and she's the only one in this entire school who can match wits with you, James… and you know that," Sirius said quietly. 

James sighed in a strangled, distressed sort of way. "Sirius, I can't like her. I just _can't_! It'd defy all my morals or something!" 

"Fine, James. It's your life and it's your business but I think you are making the biggest mistake of your life," Sirius said in a resigned, tired tone. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow. 

Unfortunately for James, when he rolled over and tried to sleep again, he was even more confused than he had been before. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"So come on, Lily, we've been waiting patiently all through breakfast and you've said _nothing _about last night!" Misty squealed, nearly dying in anticipation. Sabrina and Arabella were not far behind in their excitement, either. 

Lily was dead tired but still managed a smile over her sleepy features. "Oh, I don't know… you guys _really _want to know?" 

"YES!" All three of them yelled, making several people turn around and stare at them. 

"Well, I went to detention last night with Potter –" 

"Yes, yes we've heard that. Get to the details," Arabella said impatiently. 

"Well – then we cleaned the desks and blackboards and he insulted me so I dumped an entire bucket of soapsuds on his head and he chased me around and Professor Hughes came in and told us off," Lily said. She 'forgot' to tell them about the other incident that happened, and it was all for the better anyway. 

"Oh, awesome!" Sabrina beamed. 

"I wish I could've gotten a picture," Arabella said, grinning as well. 

"You mean one of those moving ones?" Lily asked excitedly. 

"Oh come on, that's not so great. Big whoop, moving pictures," Sabrina said rolling her eyes, "what fascinates me is how you Muggles use those non-moving pictures!" 

"Now _those _are boring," Lily said laughing. 

"Yes but how do they work? I mean you just snap the –" She stopped abruptly.

"What?" Lily asked, noting Sabrina's sudden mood adjustment. 

"Hey guys!" Misty and Arabella chirped.

"Hey," James, Remus and Sirius chorused, sitting down. 

"What do you guys want?" Lily asked rudely. She didn't make eye contact with James - if she had, she would have noticed he was doing the same. 

"Nothing! We just want to sit here!" Sirius said defensively. 

"Sorry about Lily, she's just telling us about detention last night," Sabrina said. 

James looked up suddenly and looked at Lily. Lily looked back with her eyebrows slightly raised. 

"Yes, so anyway, that was about it. Nothing exciting," Lily said pointedly looking in James' direction. 

James heaved a huge sigh of relief; Sirius shot him a confused look.

"Something wrong, Sirius?" Sabrina cooed. 

"Nope! Nothing! Everything is A-OK!" Sirius said with a forced smile on his face. 

_James, we've got to put you through some psychoanalysis or something_, he thought wryly. 

"Students! Students!" Professor McGonagall called suddenly from the teacher's table. 

All eyes turned towards the interruption. Professor McGonagall looked out of breath and pink-cheeked, which was unusual in itself, but not as much as the fact that she was standing on her chair. 

"What's that old badger want now?" James muttered. 

"Students, I have exciting news!" She said happily. 

"You and Professor Hughes are finally getting married! Congratulations, Professor!" Sirius said loudly, grinning. 

The entire hall burst out laughing; Sirius, like James, was charming _and _witty and always knew how to twist around a teacher's word. It was a rare talent, and took bravery to take on a teacher at Hogwarts. 

"Mr. Black, hold your comments," Professor McGonagall said with a steely glint in her eyes. 

Sirius grinned wider and saluted. 

"Anyway," she continued in a more subdued manner, "this is top secret information and I'll need one student to go down to Professor Dumbledore's office for further instructions." 

Remus scowled as she stepped off her chair and students, looking at one another in confusion and chattering away like monkeys. 

"If she wanted us to know what the news was, why'd she bloody go away? And if it's top-secret, why do we all know?" he asked. 

The group gave a laugh. 

"And this message will self-destruct in five seconds," Lily said smiling. 

"Wonder who this student is?" James asked. 

"Probably you, Potter. It's probably a suicide mission into the Forbidden Forrest and they're happy because they're finally getting rid of you," Lily said innocently, grinning in her best angelic way. 

"Haha. I'm so unbelievably amused," James muttered sarcastically. 

"It's probably some smarty-pants Hufflepuff," Misty said scornfully. 

"Hey wait! Professor McGonagall's coming over here!" Arabella squeaked, looking slightly panicked. 

All of them watched as Professor McGonagall gestured to Lily. Lily looked bewildered and slightly panicked as well. Shooting a look at Arabella, Misty and Sabrina, she went over to where Professor McGonagall was standing. 

"Yes Professor?" Lily asked nervously. 

"Lily! Lily Evans, walk with me," she said in a businesslike tone. Lily walked with her, feeling stupid and wondering what one of her friends would say if they'd heard Professor McGonagall say 'walk with me.' 

"What's this about, Professor?" Lily inquired, guessing they were walking to Professor Dumbledore's office. 

"It's a strange series of events, actually, Lily, and we need a very mature student to handle this," Professor McGonagall said ominously. Lily almost laughed out loud when she saw her professor's eyes bugging out, making them larger when Lily looked at them through her spectacles. 

"Yes?" Lily asked, trying to conceal her sniggers. 

"Two new students arrived this morning: Jaden Lethesine and Sierra Lethesine. Their parents were purebloods but they were caught in a bad circle of friends, friends of the Dark Lord and, well, they perished when a group of Deatheaters set fire to their house," Professor McGonagall said solemnly. 

Lily gasped. "That's awful!" 

"Tragic, Miss Evans. So, I'd like you to escort Sierra to the girl's dormitories and get her used to her surroundings. Try not to bring up the death of her parent's; it's a very delicate process of healing," she said before telling the stone gargoyle outside of Dumbledore's office the password. 

The two stepped inside Professor Dumbledore's office to see young Professor Dumbledore sitting at his desk, looking pensive, and two dark-haired teenagers sitting casually in the high-backed chairs facing Dumbledore's desk. 

"Ah, Professor McGonagall," Professor Dumbledore nodded, "Lily." 

"'Lo Professor," Lily said quietly. 

"Miss Evans, I trust Professor McGonagall has explained to you the circumstances?" Professor Dumbledore asked severely.

"Yes sir," Lily replied. 

"Lily, this is Jaden and that's Sierra. This is Lily Evans, one of your new classmates," Professor McGonagall said to them. 

Jaden and Sierra turned around to look at Lily. Lily gasped: they were practically identical! Jaden and Sierra both had pale skin without any trace of a blemish on it, eerie violet colored eyes and curly black hair. 

Lily got a shudder down her spine when her and Jaden's eyes met. He seemed so… mysterious. And both of them had somewhat of a vampire's quality to them. 

"Pleasure to meet the both of you!" Lily said, still quite uncertain of how to approach them. 

Sierra smiled but Jaden nodded in a cold, disregarding sort of way. 

"Any particular reason why they're both in Gryffindor, Professor?" Lily asked Professor Dumbledore tentatively. 

Professor Dumbledore looked pensive. "Sierra was sorted into Gryffindor; Jaden has been sorted into Ravenclaw." 

Lily nodded. The matter of Sorting no longer an issue in her mind. 

"I will see to it that Jaden gets to Ravenclaw," Professor McGonagall said briskly. "Lily, you may leave now." 

Lily nodded and Sierra got up gracefully from her chair, said farewell to her brother and followed Lily out of the office. 

"I hope you don't find Jaden too strange," Sierra said immediately, looking apologetic. 

Lily looked at Sierra with confusion. "What do you mean?" 

Sierra hit the toe of her black platform boots on the carpet as they walked back to Gryffindor. "Well, what I mean is that – well, he's very emotionless. He doesn't like to show people how he feels and since our parent's death, he's been even more distant." 

"He seems friendly enough; maybe all he needs is a friend!" Lily said brightly, lying through her teeth. 

Sierra smiled sadly and shook her head. "He has his own friends, but they never come over to our house." 

"Oh," Lily said, "Does he meet them somewhere?" 

Sierra shrugged. "My parents were always out somewhere and I was left with a babysitter; Jaden came and went as he pleased." 

Lily could identify, sadly, with Sierra. Her parents weren't always out of the house, but it sure felt as though they were miles from communication. 

"I hope he hasn't fallen in with the wrong crowd. There's an uncommon amount of Deatheaters and Dark Lord supporters these days," Lily said recalling what she'd read that morning in the Daily Prophet, before James had knocked his goblet of pumpkin juice on purpose over it. 

"Oh no, Jaden would never do that. He's very distant, but he's not bad!" Sierra said quickly. 

"Oh," Lily said. She began to feel quite awkward walking down the corridors silently. 

"Are there moving portraits everywhere?" Sierra asked in amazement after a short lapse in conversation. 

"Yes, isn't it incredible?" Lily asked enthusiastically, happy to be on a topic of conversation she could talk about easily. 

"I've always wanted to be here at Hogwarts; Mum sent us off to Durmstrang when we were old enough to go," Sierra said sadly.  

"I've heard that's a pretty good school," Lily said. 

Sierra's eyes widened. "Who did you hear _that _from?"

"Oh you know, statistics I read… somewhere," Lily said quickly. 

"It's an _awful _school. They teach you all the things you'd never want to hear about: ways they used to torture Muggles, mind-altering potions…" Sierra broke off with a shudder and Lily felt even more sorry for the girl. 

"I'm sorry," Lily said, "but I assure you we've got good teachers and no (she was about to add 'mostly' but thought better of it) bad things ever happen here." 

Sierra smiled faintly. "I know. I've heard all about it here!" 

"Here! Wait, don't walk anymore; we're here," Lily said, pointing towards the Fat Lady. 

Sierra looked slightly intimidated by the towering portrait but sidled up next to Lily anyway. 

"Hippity hop," Lily said to the Fat Lady and the portrait swung open. 

Sierra stepped through first and gaped at shock at the luxuriance of her surroundings. 

"This is where we stay?" she asked Lily in wonderment. 

"Yup," Lily said with a nod, "up there is the boy's dormitories and to the right is the girl's dormitories. Very strict ruling about confusing those though, so don't get any ideas!" Lily said winking. 

Sierra grinned. "I'd only confuse them if I had to." 

"You'll want to meet my… Potter, what're you doing here?" Lily asked suddenly. James looked up from where he was sitting on the couch with Sirius and Remus. 

"Evans? What're _you _doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in class?" James asked, just as surprised as she was. 

"N – no, I have – " Lily said trying to make sense of the words that wanted to come out of her mouth. 

Sirius looked from Lily to Sierra with the look of utter confusion on his face. "Who's she?" 

"Yeah Lily, who is she?" Remus asked. 

"Oh, yes! Yes, this is why I'm not in class – this is Sierra Lethesine, transfer student from Durmstrang," Lily said in a sort of formal introduction. 

Sirius grinned widely. "Fresh blood, eh?" 

"Nice Sirius, nice," Lily said in a slightly disgusted voice as he stepped over to Sierra and kissed her hand. 

Remus snorted. "What a gentleman!" 

"He never does anything like that with his girlfriends!" James replied. 

"That's because he sweet talks them to the Astronomy Tower," Lily replied with a roguish grin. 

Sirius shrugged with feigned innocence. "Can't help it!" 

Sierra smiled, though utterly lost. "I should like to visit the Astronomy Tower with you sometime, Sirius." 

All of them looked at Sierra with an astounding amount of newfound respect for the new girl. 

Remus gave a low whistle, grinning at Sirius. "She's a smart cookie, Sirius… if I were you, I'd keep her around!" 

James looked most impressed. "You catch on quickly, don't you?" 

"I've always been a fast learner," she said with a shrug. 

Lily laughed. "Yeah, I think we'll be keeping her." 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**A/N: My stories always end cheesily. Must stop doing that! Sorry for the lateness – got writer's block. R/R!**


	22. Sirius, the player, goes in for the long...

_A/n; _**Hoorah! Praise me for I am evil: I've added more characters! But here's a bit of a… * scratches head * I want to say _foreshadow… _* shrugs * Yes, a foreshadow: they won't stay at Hogwarts. **

**Ominous. **

**And to response to S.P.'s (Sorrow Personified to the rest of you) review: YESSMS THE RATING DOES GO UP!!!!! But much, much, much later because… um, hello, 14 year olds having sex is kind of gross. (beta reader: yeah, just a little…lol)**

**GO SEE THE NEW LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS TRAILER!!!! * falls on floor convulsing * DEAR GOD!!!!! Is there anyone else who CANNOT WAIT for it to come out???? Agh!!!!!!!!! **

**Please applaud me for shrieking when Frodo shots are shown. And please laugh when Frodo falls face-first into the Dead Marshes for it amuses me beyond words. **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

If at any time Lily needed to realize her life was about to change very dramatically for the first time, it was now, when Jaden and Sierra arrived. Of course Jaden gave her the heebie-jeebies and of course the circumstances were bizarre, but something else hung in the air - suspicion, fear, anxiety. 

Everyone in the school seemed to notice the change in atmosphere as Christmas was fast approaching in a matter of four weeks. Lily chalked the feeling up to the holidays coming and everyone was going crazy about school being let out in a few weeks. 

Sierra had been there for one month and was adored by the entire fourth year, Lily and her friends, and James and his friends. She was the perfect addition to Hogwarts: the life of the party, the perfect student and the most enthusiastic person Lily had ever met. She was driven by people's emotions and her own self-esteem and was generally wonderful to be with. Jaden, on the other hand, was distant and most arrogant and hateful person Lily had ever met. One might say, years later, he could most be compared to Draco Malfoy. 

Most smitten with Sierra, however, was Sirius Black. Never one to stay attached and known as 'that boy who has the most flavors of the week, besides James Potter', it was astounding to see Sierra and Sirius studying together in the library, sitting at Quidditch matches and at breakfast together and other sorts of things. The whole grade seemed to hold its breath, waiting for Sirius to finally ask her out. 

That morning was like every other and Lily, as usual, was the target of one of James' more humorous and less-harmful pranks. She sat poking morosely at her breakfast with Sabrina, Sierra, Misty and Arabella. 

"I swear Lily, he likes you! I noticed it the first day I came: the way he looks at you, the way he smiles when he taunts you. Argh! It's not fair!" Sierra exclaimed. A friendly smile took the edge off her words, though. 

"Come off it Sierra. And anyway, you know as well as I do that Sirius, for once in his life, is falling for someone that'll last longer than one week," Lily informed her with a knowing smile. 

Sierra shook her head. "If he likes me so much, then why can't he do anything about it?" 

"He's got his hands tied with Jasmine Haddox," Misty said, jabbing her thumb in the direction where Sirius and his 'flavor of the week' were standing, talking. 

Sierra smiled sadly. "I wish he wasn't like that." 

"Like what? Like a total womanizer?" Sabrina asked. 

"Yes!" Sierra exclaimed. 

"When it comes with the territory, girl, you have to accept the fact he's Sirius Black: in the same league as James Potter and one of the most wanted boys at school. You have to put up with the hundreds of girls who want him just as bad as you do," Arabella said wisely. 

"Wow, Bella that was… _insightful!_" Misty exclaimed with her eyes wide. 

Arabella grinned proudly. "I know!" 

"You must've been hurt badly by him," Sierra said quietly. 

"Oh, please. Everyone's been burned by him, he's like Potter except he's got a brain," Lily said rolling her eyes. 

"I hate it when you refer to James as 'Potter.' Why do you two have to hate each other so much?" Sierra asked in an annoyed voice. 

"Because we just… have our discrepancies," Lily said airily. 

"Discrepancies being the understatement of the year," Misty laughed. 

"Oh yes. Have you all seen the wonderful new art he's displayed on me?" Lily said with a frown. 

She stood up and turned around so that they could all see the neon-pink writing on the back of her robes that read 'I Have Slept With All The Slytherin Sixth Years!' with hearts around it. 

Sierra tried to look sympathetic and at the same time prevent herself from laughing out loud. The result was a rather comical mix of snorting and clenched teeth.

"It's not funny," Lily said sulkily, sitting back down. 

"No it's not! Who'd want to sleep with _any _Slytherin?" Misty said wrinkling her nose. 

"Ew! Like Severus Snape," Arabella said. 

"Or Malfoy," Sabrina said with utter distaste written across her face. 

"Or Potter," Lily said, looking like she was going to throw up. 

"Do you even know anyone that wouldn't kill to go up the Astronomy Tower with him?" Misty asked skeptically. 

"No," Lily said blatantly. 

'Going up to the Astronomy Tower' was referring to the reoccurring events that had taken place that year: James, Sirius and Remus were notorious for their charms and had obviously come up with the brilliant idea of luring girls up there for some heavy snogging. There was also the possibility that they'd done more because Lily knew for a fact that a lot of the girls in their year and up had participated in _some _sexual activity. 

Lily shuddered at the mere thought of James Potter putting his hands anywhere on her. 

"Then I rest my case," Misty said. 

"Misty, you've been to the Astronomy Tower…what was it like?" Sierra asked with more than a little interest. 

Misty blushed. "Well, I – it was a one time thing…" 

"Come on Misty, we've all been dying to hear about this one!" Sabrina said heartily. 

Misty and James had had a mild relationship at the beginning of the year and she'd been one of James' first 'victims' up in the tower. 

"Oh, come now, I'm sure you'd all be much rather interested in talking about that upcoming Hogsmeade trip!" Misty cried pathetically, blushing even more profusely. 

"Ooh I can't wait! I have to buy all of these presents for my friends," Sabrina said excitedly. 

"What're you buying Sirius, Sierra?" Arabella asked. 

Sierra looked at all four faces with a smirk on her face. "I'll _never _tell." 

"Oh yes you will!" 

Sierra pretended to look deep in thought. "I was thinking of getting him something practical – boxers, maybe?" 

All of the girls, save Sierra, burst into giggles and tried to cover them up by putting their hands over their mouths. They were the kind of giggles you got in a health class when your teacher said the word 'penis.' 

"That's a great idea! How about you enchant them?" Misty said. She appeared considerably more enthusiastic on the subject than the rest of them were. 

"I was thinking of getting him ones with hearts…" Sierra trailed off. 

"What you want to do if you _really _want to get his attention is just do the whole nine yards: candles, romantic music, the right atmosphere…" Sabrina said, ticking off points on her fingers. 

"How would you know about all of this?" Lily asked curiously. 

"I just _do_," Sabrina said pompously. 

"Have you been reading those cheesy romance novels Bella's got up in our dorm?" Misty said, elbowing Sabrina in the arm. 

"Oh yes, those – romance novels! You have to watch them – can't be confusing reality and fantasy now, can we?" Sabrina said nervously. 

Lily suddenly got very suspicious and wondered _just _what went on with Sabrina and her older friends. 

"I HATE YOU SIRIUS BLACK! I WISH YOU'D NEVER BEEN BORN, YOU SNAKE EATING BASTARD!" Jasmine yelled suddenly, her face bright red and tears welling up in her eyes. 

All the bodies in the Great Hall swiveled around to watch this interesting soap opera-like episode. Jasmine slapped Sirius across the face, not unusual at all, and stomped out of the Great Hall. 

Sirius grinned slightly and went over to sit with James. After making sure there was nothing more to be seen, the students at Hogwarts slowly went back to their breakfasts. 

"What was _that_?" Sierra squeaked. 

"_That_ was Sirius Black doing his famous break-up routine. Happens all the time," Sabrina said nonchalantly, biting into a muffin. 

"You'll get used to it. But I imagine it's quite a nasty shock in the beginning!" Misty assured her. 

"That was scary! Do girls always do that?" Sierra inquired. 

"He's Sirius Black, remember? Girls would die for him if they… wanted to…" Lily said. "And when he breaks up with those girls who would die for him, they're pretty upset." 

"I'm surprised Sirius doesn't have a permanent handprint on his face from all the girls who've slapped him," Arabella remarked after taking a swig of her pumpkin juice. 

"It wouldn't surprise me in the least," Sabrina added. 

"Sierra, now is the _perfect chance _for you to go ask Sirius to go with you to Hogsmeade!" Lily said excitedly, pointing to where James and Sirius were sitting and laughing as though he hadn't just broken up with Jasmine. Remus, strangely enough, was nowhere to be seen. 

"Oh – oh no, Lily, I couldn't! I mean – " 

"Come on, come on I'll even go with you! And I hate Potter!" Lily said jovially, tugging on Sierra's sleeve. 

Reluctantly and with the energy of a dead leaf, Sierra was dragged over to the front of Gryffindor table where the boys in question were sitting. 

Lily cleared her throat expressively. James looked up casually, his fork halfway to his mouth. "What do you want, Evans?" 

"Nothing that concerns you. Go back to stuffing your fat face," Lily said smoothly. 

James shrugged, for once letting Lily slide without insult. 

"Hey Sierra," Sirius said, brightening considerably. 

"H – hi Sirius," Sierra said shyly. She suddenly felt exceedingly self-conscious. 

"Big _HOGSMEADE EVENT _this week, huh?" Lily said loudly and obviously, digging her heel into Sierra's foot. 

Sierra yelped and nodded feebly. 

Sirius grinned. "Yeah! I can't wait! Me and James are going to buy so much –" 

James coughed loudly, looking pointedly at him. 

"Oh wow! What a coincidence: we're going too!" Lily said, mentally kicking herself for lack of intelligent words to say. 

"…Wow, Evans, the whole 4th year is, last time I checked!" James said sarcastically. 

Lily shot him a venomous look. 

"Should we um, meet you somewhere?" Sierra ventured. 

Sirius looked stricken for a second and thought it over. He never passed up an opportunity to 'meet up somewhere' with a pretty girl, especially ones as pretty as Sierra. 

"Is your weird brother Jaden going to be there?" James asked. 

"Nice, Potter. You've got such a way with words," Lily said acidly. 

"He's not weird James, and I don't appreciate you calling him names!" Sierra said slightly peeved. 

James shrugged. "I'm just telling you what the school thinks." 

"And I'm sure you've got the school's best interests at heart," Lily said through gritted teeth. 

"Shut it, Evans," James said, pointing his fork at her. 

Lily stuck her tongue out at him. 

"I'd love to meet you somewhere… in fact, why don't we go just – just on our own!" Sirius said in one long rush of breath, wincing. 

James looked at him in shock. "_JUST BY YOURSELVES?_ Sirius, whatever happened to us going together to shop for – you know?" 

"Come on James, we've gone together plenty of times. Can't I spend some time with Sierra?" Sirius said. For the first time, it seemed he was embarrassed he had to discuss this in front of his best friend. 

"I –" James started and broke off, looking at Lily and Sierra, "would you excuse us for a second?" 

"Yeah Sierra, I'll talk to you later, ok?" Sirius said with a winning smile. 

"Right," Sierra said and dragged Lily off. 

"So how'd it go?" Sabrina, Arabella and Misty asked excitedly. 

Sierra looked flushed and slightly embarrassed. "I wish I didn't get so tongue-tied around him! I always think of _nothing _to say around him!" 

"Oh come now, you did fine!" Lily said. 

"That's because you were talking for me," Sierra reminded her. 

Lily shrugged. "I did most of it, but you were the one who brought up the topic of going together!" 

"So are you going to Hogsmeade with him?" Arabella asked. 

"Potter got peeved so Sirius said he'd talk to her later," Lily said. "Honestly, Potter's always got to have his way otherwise he gets grouchy." 

"I'm sure we'll find out later today; Sirius _really_ likes you, Sierra!" Misty said with an encouraging smile. 

"How can you be so sure?" Sierra asked. 

"Because he's never like this around girls he just keeps around for a week or two - he's always happy around you and he's more open and… I don't know it's just like he's a whole new person!" Sabrina said. 

"Oh," Sierra said slowly. She looked torn between confusion and amusement. 

"Come on, enough morning traumas: we've got class," Lily said hurriedly and they gathered their books and went off to class. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Si, you're my best friend and everything but I've just got one question: what's up with you and Sierra?" James asked later that night, when he and Sirius were in the Common Room, doing homework for a change. 

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked absentmindedly. 

"Come on, buddy, don't space out on me now! I mean, you're not leading her on like you do everyone else, are you?" James accused. 

Sirius's gaze stayed fixed on the wall opposite them. It seemed to James his mind was in a whole other galaxy. "Why would you suspect I'm leading her on?" 

James snorted. "It's the same old routine: you ask them out on a date and they fall for you and then you dump them a week later!" 

"I swear, James it's not the same this time… Sierra's got something the rest of the girls at this school don't," Sirius said quietly. 

"What would that be?" James asked. 

"It's hard to explain, it's more like animal magnetism, you know? You've just got to be with that person. I've never felt anything like it before! I mean usually I just stick with a girl because they won't leave me alone but… God James, I feel like I never see enough of her in just one day," Sirius said, running his hands through his hair. It looked like he had thought about this for a long time. 

James sat there, reclining in his chair with his legs propped up on the table, a confused expression on his face. "Sirius, has it ever occurred to you that you could be in danger of falling for her?" 

"Is that bad?" Sirius asked. 

James sighed, raking a hand through his own hair. "Look, Sirius, we've figured out we're probably the most eligible bachelors ever to come through Hogwarts, right?" 

Sirius nodded slightly, as though hesitant. 

"So, there are a _lot _of girls we've dated and still more who want us, right?" James said, sounding completely humble for such an egotistical topic. 

"Ye – s?" Sirius said slowly, still puzzled. 

"Maybe you've just hit some girl you've got to get out of your system. We're not really supposed to ever fall in love - if that's what this is. Which it probably isn't, you know. We're James Potter and Sirius Black, we can't fall in love," James said in a sad voice. 

"What do you mean by that? Why can't we fall in love?" Sirius asked, even more confused. 

"I don't know, Sirius, it's just – we've dated so many girls it's just hard to fall for one when you've gotten into a routine," James floundered. 

"So… what you're saying is we've got to live up to a certain standard? Like, never actually fall in love because we've got to keep our reputations?" Sirius asked dangerously. He looked irked now that he finally understood what James was saying.

"No, not like that exactly! I mean, we've dated so many girls and they're all the same: pretty, tall, popular, and sexy. We couldn't ever find someone that we could fall in love with that we hadn't dated, someone who was different," James said triumphantly, finally getting out what he wanted to say. 

Sirius nodded. "I understand… but I think Sierra _is _different!"

"How so?" James pressed. 

"She's so perfect for me: she's _never _fake and always up for anything. She's bloody gorgeous and she's so funny and…" Sirius trailed off. 

James grinned and nodded. "You going to take her up to the Astronomy Tower?" 

"Perhaps," Sirius said grinning and then his expression changed to a more sobered one, "I think she might be the one James." 

"The… one?" James repeated slowly. 

"Yeah you know, the One," Sirius said, repeating the earlier statement. The difference between the way he said it was utterly different from the way James had. There was an air of…reverence about him.

James snorted and started laughing. "You mean like, the One? Like, the one you lose your virginity to?" 

 Sirius gave him a weird look and shrugged uncomfortably. They both knew that they'd gotten close to losing their virginity, but neither of them had. Sirius didn't consider it a big deal, really, but it just seemed weird to talk about it concerning Sierra.

"What I mean is that she's the one who I think – I think I'd like to spend the rest of my life with," Sirius said solemnly. 

James stopped mid-laugh. "Sirius, come on man, you can't – you can't be serious! You met her barely a month ago!" 

Sirius shrugged. "One month is a long time in Sirius years." 

"Sirius, I know you like her and all but this is just too weird: you can't possibly fathom how deep love goes," James said. 

"How poetic, Jamesie," Sirius said teasingly. 

"Thanks. Been reading up on Shakespeare," James retorted sarcastically. 

"What about you, James? Who's the lucky girl you want to spend the rest of your life with?" Sirius asked. 

James groaned. "Sirius, I have _no _idea. All the girls in this bloody school are so fake and they're just like that so they'll get a date with me. I'm not stupid, you know." 

"What about Lily Evans?" Sirius asked lightly. It sounded like a name picked out of the air but James couldn't help but feel Sirius had been thinking about asking him about this for a while. 

"What about her?" James asked in icy tones. 

"Come off it James, anyone who's got eyes knows she's bloody gorgeous!" Sirius exclaimed. 

James shrugged and made a face. "She's all right, for an ice queen." 

"She's not an ice queen," Sirius said defensively. 

"How come she's so hostile all the time then?" James asked. 

"She's hostile to _you_," Sirius said. 

"All the better for me, I don't have to put up with her!" James said. 

"_Why _do you have to make this difficult? All I'm doing is asking you simple questions!" Sirius exclaimed. 

"Yes, and I'm answering those questions honestly!" James said. 

"She's so different from everyone else in this school," Sirius said, musing aloud, "she's not at all bitchy, with the exception towards you, and she's genuinely gorgeous… not all fake like some of them. She's like Sierra, except…lacking a certain _je-ne-sais-quoi._" 

"So she's got a perfect complexion," James said with a grimace and a shrug, "nothing else."

"Nothing else?" Sirius nearly exploded, "she's got the most damn perfect body ever!" 

James snorted. "No she doesn't! She's a shrimp!" 

"Doesn't matter," Sirius said shaking his head, "no one's got legs like hers." 

James, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, recalled that fateful night in detention where he'd also realized that… 

"And you know it, my friend," Sirius said with a wink. 

"Bah. Lily Evans is a thorn in my side," James said uncomfortably. 

"A sexy thorn in your side," Sirius said happily. 

"_Sexy_?" James asked how someone might say 'RABIES???' 

"Gods, yes," Sirius said with a grin, "can you imagine her in the sack?" 

James didn't bother repressing a shudder. "EW, Sirius." 

"I'm _sorry _but good God, she's got such a fiery spirit…" Sirius mused before breaking off in a silence that said a lot more than words ever could. 

"EURGH! THAT'S DISGUSTING!" James said loudly. 

"No actually, that's quite an appealing thought! If you don't go for her, I'll go for her!" Sirius said. 

"Ugh, you can have her," James said with a disgusted look on his face. 

"Ok so let's see… Sirius: Lily and Sierra, James: zero," Sirius said with a smirk. 

James repressed the urge to toss his book at him. "I'll find the right girl, I know it. But Sirius, we're just fourteen!" 

"Just fourteen… and in three years, only _three_, we leave Hogwarts and all of this behind. Who knows what romances we could have in the next three years!" Sirius exclaimed. 

"Yes Sirius, horrors, in three years we leave," James said in a dull voice. 

"Oh… darn! I have to go talk to Sierra about Hogsmeade. Perhaps I'll persuade her after our date to come up to the Astronomy Tower…" Sirius said mischievously, running off. 

James was left alone in the Common Room with the only sound being the scritch-scratch of his quill on the parchment. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Back in the Ravenclaw Common Room, Jaden Lethesine sat calmly in his chair with his legs crossed and his arms folded in his lap, staring at the fire. 

_Master better like what I'm going through to bring him Lily Evans_, he thought venomously. 

Arriving at Hogwarts had been hell and meeting all of the cheery people at Hogwarts was almost enough to make Jaden turn back. But never, not even in the hardest times did he go back on his word. He would deliver Lily Evans to the hands of Lord Voldemort. 

He had gotten his first taste of evil when he had joined the Death Eaters at the early age of twelve, when his father had punished him for looking in his secret Ministry files and blackmailing people at the Ministry with the information. Jaden wanted so desperately to do something to punish his father for acting so harshly and stupidly that he joined up with the leagues of Voldemort and burned his own house down to the ground, laughing the whole time. A laughter that sounded all too mad to his ears, but he noticed it coldly. If he was to be mad, so be it. He knew where the power lay.

Jaden's poor sister, Sierra, was oblivious to the fact that he was the murderer of their own parents and a Death Eater. Perhaps it was better that way: if Sierra was to ever find out, he would have to kill his own sister as well, leaving him no family. 

He had no family: his father was a spineless bastard, his mother had cared only for her jewelry and parties and his sister was mixed into the background. His only family was Voldemort and Voldemort's supporters. 

Getting Lily Evans would be harder than he thought: she was surrounded by admirers and friends at all times and that damned fool James Potter was absolutely smitten with her. 

He gritted his teeth in anger as he recalled his meeting with the Dark Lord the night before he had left for Hogwarts. 

{Flashback}

"Jaden, most trustworthy of all followers, your master commands you to do this deed of special magnificence," Lord Voldemort said in his soft, snakelike voice. 

_"I will obey, Master," Jaden said monotonously. _

_"Good boy," Voldemort said with a faint curving of his lips. _

_"What does Master command?" Jaden inquired in the same voice. _

_"You must go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and somehow fool that Muggle-loving bastard, Headmaster Dumbledore, into thinking that you are one of his doddering pupils eager to learn their pitiful little magic. There is a girl I want… oh yes, a certain redheaded girl, Lily Evans. You must - you must! - bring her to me," Lord Voldemort said with a look of hunger in his vivid red eyes. _

_"Why, Master?" Jaden asked with a furrow of his brow. "Why?"  _

_"Do not question the authority I have!" Lord Voldemort hissed. _

_"Yes Master," Jaden said quickly in a trembling voice. "What do you wish me to do with her?" _

_"Bring her to me as soon as possible, alive or dead," Voldemort replied with the same evil half-smirk. _

"What else does my Master command?" Jaden asked, greedy for information. 

"I have seen a great premonition, Jaden… there will be many who fight for her," Voldemort said. "There is one other… James Potter… remember that name."

_"Yes Master," Jaden said automatically. _

_Voldemort smiled. Jaden pleased him greatly, and his future as a Death Eater was promising. "Do away with the remains of their friends." _

_"Yes Master," Jaden said, feeling fulfilled. He turned on his heel and walked away, his black cloak rippling behind him…_

{End Flashback}

He would get Lily Evans and everyone she had loved dearly. Jaden smiled, a cruel smile that never touched his eyes; the Dark Lord would reward him greatly. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Sirius tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for Sierra to come back from dinner. 

"Sirius!" Sierra called when he finally sighted her climbing through the portrait.  

"Hey, Sierra, I have something to talk to you about…" Sirius said trailing off as she walked over to him. 

"About Hogsmeade?" Sierra supplied with a small smile. 

"Yeah, that's it," Sirius said inwardly cursing himself on always thinking of the stupidest things to say around her. Which felt rather odd, he had to admit, for he never said anything remotely stupid around a girl. 

"If you're asking me if I still want to go the answer's yes," Sierra stated simply, then ran her tongue over her lips nervously, waiting for an answer. 

Sirius grinned widely. "YES! I mean, wonderful. Meet you at the entrance at ten in the morning on Saturday?" 

Sierra returned a wide smile. "I'll be there." 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**A/N: Wow! Long chapter! And… woooooooo Jaden's evil. If you didn't pick up on that, I recommend rereading! This will become very important in the next few chapters. **


	23. Remus's Big Secret and the Hogsmeade Tri...

_A/n; _**Yeah ok, maybe I'll spoil the next few chapters even more… wait, never mind, you'll have to wait in agony! Sorry I can't think of anything intelligent to say at the present time… **

**Thank you so much to Slone who told me that Jaden reminded me of Lestat from Interview with a Vampire!! * claps hands * I loved that movie! Anyone who says Brad Pitt is not hot in that movie will DIE SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY =) **

**Feel free to say that Kirsten Dunst was a tad on the 'fucked up' side. I mean, hello, what was with the hair??? **

**Also muchos thankos (can't speak Spanish, I'm a French-taking fool) to Ryuuko Megami for that bit on Avada Kedavra!**

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Lily rolled out of bed rather drowsily that next morning, the day they were going to Hogsmeade. It was a Saturday, so naturally everyone in the girl's dorm was still sleeping. Lily wryly noted Sierra's outfit, hanging meticulously in the closet, was perfectly picked out down to the very shade of her lipstick for the big date. 

Lily was happy for Sierra, she really was. After all, she'd found something good and honest in one of the biggest players at school. Doing that was like finding a cure for a mortal disease; you know its there, but its hard to get to. 

Smiling to herself, Lily tugged on a pair of Muggle running shorts and a plain gray shirt with running shoes. Sometimes just a good jog around the Hogwarts ground was a way to forget all about your problems for a little while. She walked quietly to the entrance of the castle, intensely aware of the silence that still cloaked the school. On reaching the door, she checked quickly to make sure no one was watching and took off at a medium pace, the cold morning air fresh on her face. 

Not slowing down at all, she jogged around the lake and noticed near the edge of the Forbidden Forest four figures walking slowly, huddled together. Curious (and slightly scared, for her heartbeat increased and her mouth felt dry), she cautiously slipped behind some dew-soaked bushes near the edge of the lake. 

"Come on Remus, its only a little farther," said one voice that sounded familiaras the figures approached.

Fear gripped Lily like an icy hand around her throat. They were barely five feet from where she was crouching on the damp ground. 

"Prongs – " 

"What is it, Padfoot?" snapped 'Prongs.' 

"There's someone on the other side of the bushes." 

"How'd you figure? Look, I know these are _strange _circumstances but I really think this whole thing is getting to you!" 

"No, Prongs, I can sense it…" 

Lily didn't know whether to bolt up and run or stay placed and scream so loud it shattered windows. Eventually, she couldn't take it: she'd have to stand up sooner or later, and those people were getting awfully close… 

"LILY EVANS?" A boy bellowed in shock. 

Lily shot up like a rocket, brushing stray hairs out of her eyes and looking around wildly. 

"Lily? What're you doing out here?" Sirius Black asked with a look of guilt, confusion and mistrust on his face. 

"Bloody – bloody _fuck_! You nearly made me have a heart attack, you freaking morons!" Lily shrieked, breathing heavily. 

"Oh God, Lily, don't say anything, don't say anything! Jesus, if someone catches us –" James Potter hissed, looking worried. Lily noticed absently he had for once called her by her name - a most unusual happening. 

She stopped moving around and looked at the four people standing in front of her: Sirius and James were standing over a deathly pale Remus and beside Sirius was Peter Pettigrew. 

"I didn't realize you guys hung around with Peter," Lily said suddenly. 

James shook his head almost violently. "Not now, Evans." 

"What're you guys doing out here anyway? Ooh… my gosh, you guys are out here…" Lily said her eyes slowly widening, looking in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. 

"It's not what it looks like –" Peter started in a scared voice. 

"Shut up Peter, yes it is!" James snapped. 

Lily looked blankly at them, completely at a loss for words. What a strange occurrence of events! 

"Would someone _please _like to tell me what is going on here?" she said suspiciously. 

Sirius scuffed his toe on the ground, shoving his hands into his pockets. Remus sat up looking dead-tired. 

"Remus…?" Lily asked with a sharp pang of sympathy hitting her heart. He had twigs and leaves and dirt in his sandy-blond hair and bloody scratches all over his arms and a few on his face. His lip was bleeding from a nasty gash on the lower right side. It seemed James, Peter and Sirius was in similar conditions. 

"Lily, you've got to _swear _you will not repeat to _anyone _what I'm about to say," James threatened. His eyes reflecting a menacing glint. 

Lily crossed her arms. "I promise I won't." 

"Remus, do you give me permission to tell her?" James asked Remus seriously. 

"Please Lily - please, don't tell anyone," Remus said in a quiet, ashamed voice. 

"I promise, Remus," Lily said. 

"I'm sure you've figured out that Remus gets sick or has to visit a sick relative, right?" James asked without a hint of sarcasm of coldness in his voice. 

Lily nodded slowly, starting to like the James that wasn't a complete asshole around her. 

"Especially around full moons?" 

"James… I don't know. She hates you, she'd probably find some way to get you back using this information," Peter piped up. 

James looked Lily squarely in the eyes, their gaze locking for a moment or two. Lily didn't feel at all irritated or awkward when he looked at her that way… almost like he was trying to read her mind and soul. She tried to do the same to him, though she felt no one could match that fervent intensity. 

"No," James said in a decided voice, "she's not cruel in that way." 

"Its your choice, Remus," Sirius spoke up. 

"I trust Lily," Remus said with a weak smile. 

"Remus is a werewolf, Lily," James said quietly, his eyes downcast. 

Lily felt as though her oxygen supply had been cut off. Her stomach plummeted.

"_Werewolf_?" she said dazedly.

"Yes, he's a _werewolf_," James repeated with a little more irritation. 

"But – but how?" Lily asked, unable to grasp the concept. The world seemed to be spinning strangely… 

"I was bitten as a child, there's no cure for me so I come out here on every full moon," Remus said. He raised his hand a bit to try to point at the Forbidden Forest, but stopped midway and let it drop heavily back down. "I seem to have missed the mark a bit this time - usually Dumbledore escorts me to the Whomping Willow and leads me to the Shrieking Shack where I can transform and stay there until I'm human again." 

"Lucky for him we found out last year and have been trying to turn into Animagus ever since," Sirius said, approaching the topic easily. "Although our attempts haven't worked very successfully yet."

"Do – do – do you know how much _TROUBLE _you're going to be in if anyone ever finds out? You could all be killed!" Lily shouted at them. She shook with some emotion she could not identify. It was not anger. 

"We're not afraid, Lily," James said seriously. 

"It doesn't matter! You're all a bunch of young, stupid –" 

"But no one will find out, will they?" Peter reminded her with a small smile. 

Lily looked at Remus and felt the world spin beneath her feet again. Her friend, her dear friend Remus was a… werewolf. 

"Remus… werewolf…" Lily muttered and, feeling extremely faint, she collapsed on the ground in a crumpled heap. 

"Shit," James spat and bent over her, pushing away the red hair covering her face. Her face was paler than usual and her eyes were closed, but she was breathing. 

"Come on, we've got to get her to the Hospital Wing," Sirius said. 

"Sirius, don't make me –" James said in a warning voice. 

"Remus, can you walk ok?" Sirius asked. 

Remus nodded and struggled up. Peter supported some of his weight, as Remus must've sprained his ankle running out of the forest. 

"James, you've got to carry Lily," Sirius said. 

"_WHAT_? Why me?" James protested. 

"Because… you know, you're stronger than me," Sirius said. Lying on short notice was a skill that simply came naturally.

"Gee, thanks, but flattery at this point isn't accepted: you take her," James said sarcastically, pushing Lily's limp form towards Sirius. 

"God James, she doesn't have cooties! Just pick her up and carry her to the Hospital Wing! I promise that _no one _is going to see you," Sirius assured his friend. 

"All right! She better be grateful I'm doing this," James grumbled and picked her up. She was surprisingly light, but that might be because she was unconscious… 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Oh gracious, what happened here?" Madame Blank exclaimed as they all entered the Hospital Wing in their strange entourage. 

"Remus is feeling a bit down," Sirius supplied, helping Remus into one of the hospital beds. 

James sighed heavily and laid Lily down on the closest bed to the door and immediately shook his arms to release the tension in them. 

"Lily fainted from the - the cold," Peter said. 

Madame Blank nodded, though still looking slightly bewildered. "What were you three doing out so early?" 

All of them looked at each other with a look of panic on their faces.   
  


"Um… scouting out the Quidditch field, you know, seeing if the grass needs to be cut…" James said quickly. 

"Yes! Can't play Quidditch without good, clean-cut grass?" Sirius said, looking at James like he was crazy. 

Madame Blank looked at James in the exact same way but let it slide. "Thank you… gentlemen… but you'll probably want me to examine those cuts you've got!" 

James and Sirius groaned and sat down on the same bed, swinging their legs and waiting for her to examine them. Peter had mysteriously vanished off after he'd gotten Remus to the door. 

"Goodness, how you boys get so dirty and scraped up is beyond me!" Madame Blank tutted. 

"It is a wonder," Sirius replied sincerely, acting like he had no idea what she was talking about. 

Madame Blank put a bandage on a nasty gash on James' forehead and muttered a spell, curing the rest of the two boy's minor scrapes. 

"Your friends will be just fine, come back in a little while and they'll be in good enough condition to go to Hogsmeade!" She said, shooing them out in a motherly fashion. 

"What do we do now? Everyone's going to want to know where Lily and Remus are," Sirius asked James once they had escaped the infirmary. 

"We tell everyone absolutely nothing! This is just like every other time when Remus would go up to the Hospital Wing, we go on with our lives and forget about his condition while we can," James said. 

"Oh," Sirius said, "I was hoping we'd be able to tell Misty and Arabella and – Sierra." 

"No way," James said immediately. "Sirius, what do you think would happen if we betrayed his trust?" 

"He'd go postal and eat us once he transforms next month?" Sirius said helpfully. 

"Um… yeah, that and the entire school wouldn't know how to approach him and it'd be – er – awkward. Some people might take advantage of him in the aftermath of transforming." 

"Yeah… ok well, its nearly breakfast, I have to go catch up with Sierra," Sirius said running off. 

"You know, deserting your best friend for a woman is _not _how you earn brownie points!" James called after him. 

Walking alone in the corridor, he thought of Lily and her being all alone in the Hospital Wing (Remus usually slept a long time after recovering) and suddenly remembered: she'd probably heard him refer to his friends as their nicknames. 

_Damn_, he thought as he ran back to the Hospital Wing. 

"Mr. Potter, I thought I told you to come back later!" Madame Blank scolded him although she couldn't hide a tiny smile. 

"Sorry Madame," James said flashing her a charming apologetic smile that even she couldn't say no to. "You know, Lily's a really good friend and I just want to make sure she's ok." 

Madame Blank nodded, touched. "Of course James! I'll be in my office if you need anything." 

James nodded and pulled up a chair next to Lily's bed as she closed the door to her office. 

James rolled his eyes. "Sucker." 

Fortunately enough, it didn't take Lily long to come around. Her vision was slightly blurred but she could see an outline of a boy… with a bloody handsome face, might she add, until her vision became perfectly cleared and realized it was James. 

"EURGH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?" she said in an annoyed voice, rubbing her eyes. 

"Glad to see you've come around," James said in a perfectly chipper voice. 

"Bugger off Potter, go find some girls to chase," Lily said sourly. 

"You seem perfectly bitchy today Miss Evans," James commented. 

"Thank you. You'd be this way too if you were in my place and I found _your _hideous face leering at me," Lily replied sweetly. 

"Listen, I don't have time to talk and its just as well: I've got my own plans today at Hogsmeade. Did you hear anything before you stood up and saw us?" James asked. 

Lily closed her eyes, groaning. "Are you going to blackmail me?" 

James thought this over and thought better of it. "No, I just want to know."

"I heard somebody talking and said the words 'Prongs' and with a reply came 'something something _Padfoot_," Lily said. 

James smiled. "Thank you Miss Evans, you've been most helpful." 

Lily looked at him, slightly hesitant. "Are you going to kill me now that you've got your information?" 

"No, but if you breathe a single word of it to anyone I'll get you back in ways you can't even imagine," James said with a grin. 

"Devious little bugger, aren't you?" Lily remarked dryly. 

"I've got a reputation to live up to Evans," James said with a shrug. 

"Oh yes, that bloody infamous 'reputation' you go on about," Lily said sarcastically. 

"You're just - jealous you don't have a reputation!" James said lamely. 

Lily snorted. "There are better things in life besides being known at school as the person who's slept around the most." 

James looked indignant. "I do not _sleep around_. That's low." 

Lily shrugged. "I don't know, I wouldn't put it past you!"

"I'm sure you've done a fair share of it yourself Evans," James said coolly. 

Lily smirked. "Wouldn't you _love _to know? And I'm only fourteen, I haven't done _anything _yet." 

"Sure you haven't," James said rolling his eyes, starting to get up. 

He felt her tug on his sleeve. "James, wait." 

"What?" he asked sharply. His eyes softened when he looked at her: she looked like she was fighting an internal battle, biting her lip. 

"Thanks," She said with a tiny, practically non-existent smile, "I mean, you know, for back there…" 

"You're welcome," James said and walked out. 

Lily sighed and sank back deep into her pillows, her cheeks flaming brilliantly. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Lily! I didn't think you'd make it!" Sierra called from the doorway. 

Lily grinned. Still feeling somewhat faint, she had convinced Madame Blank to let her and Remus out of that God-forsaken Hospital Wing two hours later. 

"Just in time to ruin the rest of the day!" James called with a snicker. A pretty fifth year girl Lily couldn't place a name to was hanging onto his arm. 

"New girlfriend?" Lily asked coolly. 

"Yeah this is um…" James thought quickly, "Betty?" 

"It's Veronica," she said snottily. 

"You know for someone who's gotten the opportunity to date Potter for a week, you certainly aren't making good use of your time," Lily said maliciously. 

"Good one," Sierra said, high-fiving Lily with a laugh. 

James rolled his eyes and Veronica tossed her brown hair over her shoulder. 

"Was that a comment used to stick up for James?" Sirius asked, letting that question dangle in the air. 

"No, I don't defend people. They can fight their own battles," Lily said airily. 

"I wouldn't want Evans fighting for me anyway. She couldn't fight her way out of a wet paper bag!" James laughed. 

Lily made a face at him. "You're so charming." 

"All right, good use of insults today guys! I'd say it was a tie today," Sirius said with a tone of finality in his voice. 

"Lets go! I want to go straight to the Three Broomsticks to go get some butterbeers," Sierra said happily. 

"Whatever milady wants!" Sirius said jovially, offering his elbow to her. Sierra laughed, playing along and they walked out over exaggeratedly. 

Veronica rolled her eyes and dragged James along behind her. Lily grinned to herself: Dating Veronica would be a bad thing from the start, and she could hardly wait until she could start taunting James. Oh, the simple pleasures in life! 

It was a bright and breezy November day with leaves falling from the trees, the lake glimmering, and the giant squid swimming lazily on the surface. 

"I wish I had a boyfriend," Lily said all of the sudden. 

"Too bad Evans, no boy would _ever _date you!" James said just as suddenly. 

"I guess I deserved that," Lily said with a roll of her eyes. 

"Aw come on Lily, I know tons of boys who would go out with you!" Sirius said brightly. 

"Like _who_?" Lily asked. 

"Well," Sirius said, "there's Amos Diggory – "  
 

"AMOS DIGGORY? You mean that smarmy bloke from Hufflepuff? The one who's Chaser on the Quidditch team?" James asked incredulously. 

"Yeah, him!" Sirius said. 

"He's cute," Sierra said thoughtfully. 

"You think? You see, I've kind of been thinking that too – " 

"Come off it Evans, even I know you and him haven't even exchanged distant glances, let alone a conversation!" James said. 

"Well it isn't impossible, you ass!" Lily said hotly. 

James shrugged. "I'm just_ saying_!" 

"God, how do you manage to piss me off with even the littlest of things?" Lily asked gritting her teeth. 

"It's a gift," James said happily. 

"He is rather good, isn't he?" Sirius said smiling. 

"Shut up," James said. "Evans, I just remembered something!" 

"What?" 

"_You're _a Gryffindor and _he's _a Hufflepuff," James said pretending to be concerned, "so wouldn't that be… going against your own House?" 

Lily put a finger to her chin, pretending also to be concerned. "Gosh Potter, you're _so _right! I mean, what the _FUCK _do you call your and Veronica's relationship? Casual _friends _through different Houses?" 

"Hey! That's not fair," James shouted. 

"Yes it is! What House are you from anyway?" Lily asked the arrogant girl. 

"Hufflepuff," Veronica said uncertainly. 

"Aha! So you know Amos Diggory?" 

"Yeah," Veronica said edgily, "we've… _dated_." 

"Oh, how fascinating," Lily said with a fake smile. From her tone, everyone could tell she couldn't care one way or the other. 

"Lily, I think you should really go for him! He's one year ahead of you, but so what! James does it all the time, right?" Sierra asked. 

"Righto," James said giving her thumbs up. 

Lily was apprehensive and pretty down by the proposition of going out with Amos. Sure, she didn't know him from a load of wood but you could get to know people! But what if it didn't work out? She didn't want to be dumped by someone older than her; it would be too embarrassing for words!

"Lily? LILY! It's this way," Sirius said laughing, dragging her towards Hogsmeade. 

A short while later, they were on the main streets of Hogsmeade, their cheeks turning pink from the cold and heading towards the Three Broomsticks. Plenty of people were milling around on the streets, from children to very old adults and many Hogwarts students running around with bags of things purchased from stores. 

"Oh look, Lily! Gladrags! We didn't have one where we lived," Sierra said, looking wistfully at the designer store. 

Lily smiled, jangling her pockets filled with wizarding money. "Maybe later, ok Sierra?" 

"Ok!" Sierra said brightly.

Veronica, Sirius, Sierra, Lily, and James entered the bustling and cheery atmosphere that was the Three Broomsticks. 

"There's a table over there," Lily said, pointing to a table over in the back. 

"Who's paying for drinks?" Sirius asked as they settled and took off their sweatshirts (in Lily's case because she was wearing Muggle clothes) and cloaks. 

All of them looked pointedly at Sirius. 

"Oh all right, first round I pay; second, Jamesie!" Sirius said sullenly. 

"You'd better pay for my drinks, Sirius," Sierra said with a pout. 

"Yeah James, you'd better pay for mine too!" Veronica said self-importantly. 

"Sure thing," James said lightly. 

"I feel like the fifth wheel," Lily said morosely, leaning her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her fists. 

"Maybe you can get _Amos_ to sit with you," James teased. 

"Shove off," Lily snapped. 

"We should get another single gal over here," Sirius said. He looked up and scanned the crowd for one. 

A pretty barmaid came up to the table. Lily watched as Sirius and James looked up with interest. 

"Ah, Hogwarts students! I haven't seen you guys around here often," she said with a smile. 

"Yeah, we don't come around _too _often. We haven't yet had the chance of meeting, my name's Sirius Black," Sirius said, smiling widely and showing off his perfectly white teeth. 

The barmaid looked quite amused. "My name is Madame Lola, Sirius Black." 

"My, you're all surrounded by such pretty girls, what's your name?" Madame Lola asked Lily.

"Lily. Lily Evans," Lily said in a friendly voice. 

"Hmm unless I'm mistaken, redheads are notorious for their flaring tempers?" Madame Lola asked with a mischievous grin. 

"Boy, you can say that again! If she was a firework, she'd set the school on fire!" James said loudly. 

"Oh, come now, that's not very nice," Madame Lola said reproachfully. "And you are?" 

"James Potter," he said pompously, flashing her an even whiter grin than Sirius'. Lily thought Veronica was going to have a heart attack when he smiled like that. 

"Ooh, so you're Charles Potter's son?" Madame Lola said, intrigued. 

"Yeah," James said nonchalantly. 

"My little boy loves Quidditch," Madame Lola said. 

"Wow, so do the rest of us!" Sirius said enthusiastically. 

They all nodded. 

"Well, what can I get for you?" Madame Lola asked finally, whipping out a piece of parchment to write down their orders. 

"Five butterbeers, just to start with," Sirius said winking. Madame Lola pinched his cheek before she turned on her heel to go fetch them their drinks. 

"Pretty lady," James said. 

"My God," Lily said in an awed voice, "do you just spontaneously combust when women are around?" 

"What're you talking about?" James asked defensively. 

"What she means is that you two completely go off around women!" Sierra said, slightly peeved for the way Sirius had been outrageously flirting with Madame Lola as soon as she came into radar. 

"Do not!" Sirius replied shortly. 

"James, will you excuse me? I have to go powder my nose," Veronica said primly, pulling his head towards hers and kissing him long and hard. Lily looked absolutely disgusted as she pulled away, smirking. 

James looked exceptionally pleased with himself, leaning back into the seat and putting his arms behind his head. 

"That was disgusting," Sierra blatantly informed him. 

"No it wasn't! You guys just don't understand how lucky James is to be going out with a person like Veronica," Sirius said with an air of importance. 

"She's an absolute horrid wench," Lily said. 

"Maybe so, but she's a damned good kisser," James retorted. 

"What're you, thinking you can pull off dating someone older than you?" Lily hissed. 

"You're going to do it, aren't you?" James replied coolly. 

"Possibly so," Lily said casually. 

"I rest my case," he said. 

Madame Lola came back with the butterbeers a few minutes later and still Veronica had not returned. 

"Maybe she got lost," Sirius said before taking a huge swig of butterbeer. 

"Oh, gosh, James, what if she went to go hang out with her actual friends?" Lily spat.

"What're you talking about? We are her real friends!" James said. 

"_We_? Where do you get this '_we_' business from?" Sierra asked icily. 

"All right, scratch the '_we business_.' _I'm _her friend," James said offensively. 

"Well, I'm out, this is horribly boring!" Lily angrily. She finished off her drink and got her sweatshirt. 

"Lily, wait! Where are you going?" Sierra asked. 

"Um… out? Probably shopping! Maybe I'll catch up with you and Sirius later?" Lily asked. 

"Yeah, that's fine!" Sierra called as Lily walked out. 

Heading back towards Gladrags, Arabella spotted Lily and waved her over. 

"Buggers its cold out here, huh?" Lily said as they both entered the store. 

"Mm, it's too damn cold," Arabella replied, trying to warm up her hands. 

"Oh – wow," Lily said looking in awe at the amount of dress robes and other wizarding clothing items for sale. 

"It's pretty amazing, also bloody expensive!" Arabella snorted, picking up a shirt that said 'Kiss Me I'm Magical' for 23 Knuts. 

(_a/n; _**Sorry for the interruption but I don't know the values for Knuts, Sickles or Galleons so I'm just going to make up some random prices, k?**) 

"I see your point," Lily said slightly dismayed. 

"But we can still look around! I haven't yet bought a dress robe for whatever fancy occasion we might be having," Arabella said hopefully. 

"Ooh look! Silk dress robes," Lily said excitedly, fingering a pale yellow one. 

"Ugh. It'd look awful on you," Arabella said. 

"Right! Well I was just looking at it," Lily said quickly. 

"This one would be _much _better," Arabella said taking off the rack a shimmery gray silk robe. 

"It looks kind of – " 

"It goes well with your eyes," Arabella said shortly. 

"You're the boss!" Lily said saluting. 

"Go try it on! Maybe we'll be able to pool our money together," Arabella said. 

"Oh Arabella, I don't know –" 

"Lily, go try it on!" Arabella said. Although she was trying to be serious, she had a grin on her face. 

"All right," Lily said with the same grin on her face. 

A few minutes later, while Lily was still was still in the dressing rooms, Sierra, Sirius and James all walked over to Gladrags and met up with Arabella. 

"Where's Lily?" Sierra asked. 

"She's –" 

"Arabella? What do you think? Looks rather limp, I'd say!" Lily called, coming out of the dressing room. 

"Oh wow that doesn't look bad at all! It looks wonderful!" Arabella gushed. 

"Lily, that looks great! Where'd you find that?" Sierra asked with her eyes wide. 

"You think so?" Lily asked smiling at the reflection of the three-way mirror she was standing in front of. In the reflection, Lily could see James and Sirius. 

Lily turned around and stuck her hip out a bit. "What do you think, boys?"   
  


Sirius waited for James to come up with something witty. When that didn't happen and there was an awkward pause, Sirius nudged James sharply in the ribs. 

"What's wrong?" he hissed. 

"Nothing," James hissed back. "You look like an old piece of metal, Carrots," he said aloud. 

"Thanks," Lily said, her bright smile not fading. 

She stepped back into the dressing room to change and left Sirius and James to themselves.

"She looks bloody gorgeous, why didn't you –" 

"Because I don't want to say that to her face!" James said sharply. 

"Ooh…" Sirius said knowingly. 

"How much is it?" Sierra asked. 

Lily looked over her shoulder and at the tag hanging from the hood. She tried to reach it but couldn't quite get it. James stepped up and pulled the hood up so she could reach the tag, brushing his hand against her neck. 

Lily got chills up her spine involuntarily when this happened. "Thanks." 

"No problem," James said shortly. 

"It's 54 Galleons!" Lily cried in shock and dismay. 

"Damn. Sierra, how much money have you got?" Arabella asked. 

"Arabella! Don't ask Sierra for money!" Lily scolded.

"I've only got twenty!" Sierra said also looking sad. 

Lily smiled in a pained sort of way and twirled around once more. "It's ok you guys, I don't need them! I've got two already!" 

She went back into the dressing room and came out carrying the silky robe. She put it back on the hanger somewhat disappointed and promptly walked out with all of her friends, off to enjoy the rest of their day in Hogsmeade. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

A/N: Hmm… a bit more L/J there! You know, it's killing me just as much as you not to just make them fall in love! But that would be horribly clichéd so I can't do that and I'll make you suffer! Don't forget to review, which I'm sure you won't! I love the responses I'm getting! Keep them coming!


	24. James Has Bad News and Catches Sight of ...

**A/N: All right! Be prepared to feel at least partial shock and try not to hate me for what I've done! * cowers * In a way… * looks at Beta Reader * can I say it?? It _helps _Lily and James' relationship… **

**There!**

**Flames will be used to light my fire. Hahaha. Rock on. (from my Beta Reader) **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Christmas Break was in four days. Four tedious, agonizingly slow days had to pass before students were let off. The list was passed around the school to see who was staying and who was going home. 

"Lily, are you staying?" Sierra asked as they sat at dinner together. 

"Of course! I wouldn't be caught dead spending Christmas with my family!" Lily said with a look of distaste on her face. 

"Oh right, temporary brain lapse," Sierra said with an apologetic smile on her face. "I'm going home for Christmas. Jaden and I are going to spend some time at my aunt's." 

"I was hoping you'd stay!" Lily protested. 

"Isn't Misty staying?" 

"Going to _France _for Christmas," Lily said enviously. 

"Arabella?" 

"Going home to her mother, father and brother." 

"Sabrina?" 

"Off with her boyfriend somewhere!" 

"That's really awful! You'll be here by yourself?" Sierra asked. 

"Well Potter will be here but – ugh! I'm not looking forward to _that_!" Lily said sullenly. She suddenly felt that Christmas Break would feel very, very hostile. 

"This is perfect! You get time to patch things up!" Sierra said cheerfully. 

"You're off your bloody rocker," Lily snorted. 

"No I'm not! I'm totally serious! Christmas is a very _romantic _time," Sierra said with an over exaggerated wink and a sharp elbow jab. 

Lily wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Potter and romance should never be in the same sentence." 

"You're bloody impossible," Sierra said, throwing up her hands. 

"No, I just hate Potter!" Lily said happily. 

"I'm going to go pack, you coming up?" Sierra asked. 

"Yeah," Lily replied halfheartedly. 

The Hogwarts grounds had been layered with early snow that left a chill all around the school; being in Potions was hell. But Lily didn't care at all: Christmas time was her favorite time of the year. She loved the fact that she felt she was living out a childhood fantasy by spending Christmas in an old-fashioned castle. _What I wouldn't give for a boyfriend around these times to sit on a couch by the fire with and look at the snow falling outside_, she thought wistfully.

"Come on Lily, before you space out too much!" Sierra said laughingly, dragging Lily up the stairs into the girl's dorm. 

"Sorry, it's just – I love Christmas," Lily admitted guiltily. 

"Who doesn't?" Sierra asked. She went over to the vanity mirror the fourth year girls shared and gathered up all of her earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings to put them into a small wooden box. She tossed it over her shoulder and it landed with a thud on top of the previously packed robes and other clothing items. 

"Nice skills," Lily said with a laugh. 

"Thanks," Sierra said and packed in all of the rest of her makeup. A thought seemed to suddenly occur to her. She gave Lily a meaningful look and placed the bulging bag of makeup back onto the table. 

"What?" Lily asked. 

Sierra smiled secretly. "Oh, nothing."

"You _honestly _think something's going to happen between me and Potter?" Lily asked exasperatedly. 

"Oh, I don't think right now but… eventually, yeah, I do," Sierra said lightly. 

Lily rolled her eyes. "_Nothing_ has happened, _nothing_ is happening and nothing will _ever _happen!" 

"I doubt that," Sierra said calmly. 

"Why do you doubt that?" Lily inquired. 

"I'm a firm believer in fate and how things are somehow all meant to fit together somehow," Sierra said seriously. "And I do think that you and James are fated to be together." 

"What makes you think that?" Lily asked, suddenly curious. 

"Because! It was chance, _serendipity_, you should hate each other… in a way," Sierra floundered for her words and finally gave up with a sigh. "It's hard to explain," she said apologetically. 

"No, I think I get it," Lily said slowly. "We're meant to be together because despite the fact we hate each other we're always stuck together for everything?" 

"Hmm… maybe the fates are giving you a sign," Sierra said mysteriously, "of things to come." 

"Oh, shut up!" Lily exclaimed, throwing her a pillow. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Four excruciating days later, Lily was seeing all of her friends off with James, Sirius, and Remus. 

"Now, Sirius and Remus, you're sure you want to leave me here alone with Evans?" James asked pleadingly. 

Sirius and Remus looked at one another, grinning. "Oh, we wouldn't give it a second thought!" 

"Argh! You are impossible," James said reproachfully but smiling all the same. 

"Yeah, I can't believe you all are deserting us! We have to be alone! We'll be dead in a few days!" Lily exclaimed exaggeratedly. 

"Have fun, kids!" The girls and boys chorused teasingly as they all boarded the train. They positively glowed with anticipation for the holidays. Except Jaden, Lily noted, who looked rather less sinister than usual. His face had taken on a hunted, anxious look. But with someone as…weird…as Jaden, who knew why he did anything? 

"Goodbye! Goodbye!" Lily and James yelled to their friends, waving as Sirius stuck his head out the window. 

"You lovebirds be careful now!" Remus called from the window. A roar of laughter was heard behind him. 

"Oh, we will!" James said cheerily, putting his arm around Lily in a joking manner. Lily looked disgusted and shoved him off, but not before she got a good whiff of his cologne. _He must shower in the stuff, _she thought sourly. It did smell good, though.

The Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station slowly but it seemed only seconds before the scarlet train was gone, snaking off into the distance. 

Lily and James stood there, not looking at one another. 

"It's bloody cold, I'm going in," Lily announced and started to walk towards the castle. 

"Wait up! I'm walking with you," James said hastily. 

Lily looked back and raised one of her eyebrows, but didn't say anything. 

"So, why didn't James Potter go home?" she said after a while. "Afraid he'd have to be smothered by loving parents?"  Lily made a mental note to put a bit less bitterness into that next time. 

"James Potter finds it to be none of Lily Evans's stupid business why he didn't go home," James replied, annoyed. 

"Lily Evans just wanted to see what would happen if she pressed one of James Potter's buttons," Lily said sweetly. 

"Whatever, Princess," James answered. He couldn't help grinning at her response, which was to give him a very menacing, very evil glare. 

"Watch it, Potter," she said warningly. 

"Just wondering what would happen if I pressed your buttons," James said mockingly, speaking softly into her ear. 

She pretended she didn't hear him but felt chills run up her spine again when she felt his hot (and slightly minty) breath on her neck.

"Yeah, well, don't expect to hang around me the whole time," she said uneasily. 

"Why in the _world _would I want to do that?" James asked innocently. 

Lily shrugged. "Just don't. The only thing we ever accomplish is insulting each other." 

"That doesn't mean we can't hang out," James said in his still blasé, innocent voice. 

Lily snorted as she started walking up the steps with James right by her side, causing several people staying at Hogwarts to gape in shock at them. 

"People are staring," Lily continued self-consciously as they walked back through Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall, who was carrying a stack of books, looked quite startled as they walked past and ran right into a wall. 

"People _always _stare," James said, rolling his eyes. 

"Look, it's _flattering_… in a non-flattering sort of way, that you're going to get down off that damned high pedestal you've put yourself on to come talk to lowly Lily Evans but I really could live without you right now," Lily said flatly. 

James pretended to look injured. "I'm hurt by your tone, Lilykins." 

Lily threw up her hands and pretended to see someone. She tried to run from him but he grabbed one of her wrists. She whirled around, her eyes flashing. "What is your deal?" 

"All," he said with a sincere smile, "I want is to make amends." 

"Fucking liar," Lily snarled wrenching away from his grip, "you're just talking to me because your friends aren't here to see you groveling." 

James' smile quickly disappeared. "That's not true!" 

Lily smirked. "Then stop trying to be nice to me." 

"All right, I'll stop," James said walking off towards Gryffindor. 

"Where're you going?" Lily asked. 

James turned around. "Come on Evans, can't we at least pretend to be civil?" 

"You didn't answer my question," Lily said crossing her arms over her chest. 

"I'm going down to the Quidditch field. I need to practice," James said. 

"Ugh. Look, hanging around with you is _NOT _how I want to spend my Christmas vacation," Lily said with disgust. 

"Look I'm not asking you to marry me, all I want to do is… be on friendly terms for the holidays," James said awkwardly. 

Lily weighed her options. On one hand, there was the option of having a perfectly wonderful non – James Potter Christmas and on the other, she could have a companion to spend time with on Christmas… even if it was James Potter. His figure was already halfway back to the doors when she made up her mind. 

"James, wait up!" Lily called to him. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"You're a bloody showoff!" Lily shouted to him although a wide smile was spread across her face. Her words were muffled by the falling snow but that didn't stop James from doing another high loop on his broom. 

James flew up to the high stands where Lily was standing trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue. "Don't you think that's a bit childish?" he asked, floating about lazily in the air.

Lily shook her head, her head still tilted up and her tongue rolled out as far as it would go. "I love doing this!" 

James took off his thick woolen red-and-gold knit gloves (from his mother) and gave them to Lily. She snapped her head down and took them in shock. 

"You need them more than I do," James shrugged, nodding towards her red hands. 

"Come on, you don't just _give _girls your possessions to wear," Lily said skeptically. 

"Yes, I do," James answered, looking at her like she was crazy. 

"Ok, I guess you do, but why me?" Lily asked. 

James shrugged, taking his hands off the broom and resting them on the stands. "Lily, why do you hate me?" 

Lily looked taken aback. "I – I… don't know? Why?" 

James sighed and hopped off his broom into the stands. Because I want to know!" 

Lily knew right at that moment she shouldn't have followed him out to the Quidditch field. She was falling into a trap, or something. She should've listened to Sierra when she mentioned being at Hogwarts at Christmas time would be romantic. Oh, God, it was all there: the snow, the gloves, and the _peculiar _glint James had in his eyes… 

"We don't _hate _each other," Lily said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. 

James snorted. "Yes we do." 

"There's no reason, ok? Some things were just – meant to be," Lily said uneasily. 

"We were friends in the beginning," James reasoned. 

"Well things have changed," she replied in clipped tones.. 

"Why can't we be friends?" James asked. He gave her an innocent look that would've made several girls around him giggle and blush, had they been there. He took her hands and it was a good thing Lily had finally decided to put on the gloves or she would've felt that all-too familiar chill run up her spine. 

Lily seemed temporarily lost for words. "I – we – um…" 

"Lily?" James pressed. 

"We can't because – Jesus Christ, we can't!" Lily said dumbly, not being able to connect her thoughts. 

James looked troubled. "But we were such _good _friends…"

"Well, you know why we aren't? Because of your stupid pigheadedness!" Lily exclaimed. Thankfully, she was beginning to form coherent sentences again. 

"_My _stupid pigheadedness? How about you, walking around like you own the fucking world?" James said angrily. 

"It takes one to know one!" Lily retorted. She wasn't quite sure what that meant, but she heard it on a movie once and always wanted to say it. 

"Whatever _that _means," James scoffed. He let go of her hands, and she was surprised to find the feeling was missed. Which made her even angrier. She tore off his gloves and threw them down, stepping on one for good measure, before spinning on one heel and stalking away to the stairs.  

"I told you I didn't want to hang around with you and I meant it!" she shouted at him, stomping down the stairs towards the field. 

"Like I wanted you to tag along with me anyway!" James ran to the stairwell to call after her. 

She flicked him off over her shoulder. 

"NICE! REAL NICE! WHAT WOULD THE FIRST YEARS THINK?" James hollered. 

"Fuck you, Potter!" Lily screamed. She had reached the field and was running across it. She felt the urge to be as far away as possible, as fast as she could. 

"The first years wouldn't want to fuck me, though! I don't even think they know what the word means!" James yelled and finally lost sight of the redhead. 

Lily wiped away tears of anger and frustration and she tramped through the snow. The snowflakes created miniature pinpricks of cold on her heated face. 

_Stupid Lily, she berated herself, __walking into a trap set by James. You're almost as bad as those bimbos he calls 'girlfriends.' _

Why did he have to make it so _bleeding hard? Couldn't he just leave her alone and never bother her? _

"I hate you, James Potter," she spat. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

James sat alone in the Common Room, reading a book by the fire. Few Gryffindors had decided to stay. The only ones in the room at the time were a couple of giggly first years that kept looking at James and a cluster of sullen, surly-looking fifth years. 

"Well, well, well. If it isn't James Potter, reading a book," Lily said mockingly, standing behind him. 

"If it isn't Lily Evans, come to spoil my Christmas break," James said nonchalantly. He flipped a page in his book with exquisite care, making a show of not looking up. 

Lily sat down on the couch next to him, resting her arms on her knees. The first years looked at Lily with jealousy. 

"Look, I'm sorry about… back there – " 

"No need to apologize," James said bitterly. 

"Oh, stop being such a stubborn ass!" Lily said loudly. 

"Not a very nice example you're setting for the first years," James scolded her. 

"Ooh, bite me," Lily said acidly. 

"You know you shouldn't treat James Potter like that, he's a very nice boy!" One of the first years said in a high-pitched voice. 

Lily burst out laughing. "Oh, you poor child! You've been severely misinformed!" 

James whacked her in the shoulder with his book. 

"Immature idiot," Lily said rolling her eyes, whacking him back with her arm. "And I'm leaving before you go completely insane." 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

It was late, around 11:30 PM, when James knocked on her door. Lily was curled up on her bed, reading a Muggle book called "A Tale of Two Cities." It was one of her favorites and had just read the opening line ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…") when he knocked again. 

Lily, embarrassed that she was only wearing a nightgown, threw on her dressing robe and opened the door cautiously. 

James stood there in nothing but black boxers (Lily had to focus her eyes on his face) and a white t-shirt. He ran his hand through his hair nervously and sniffled, which from the sound of it, made it sound like he had been crying. His eyes were decidedly red-rimmed

"Potter, you ok?" Lily asked, stepping out of the dorm. 

"Lily, I – I'm really sorry," James said and suddenly pulled her into a hug. Lily was shocked completely immobile and patted his back hesitantly. She could smell still his cologne and feel his hands shaking slightly. She couldn't help but feel how…how _perfectly they molded together. _

"What're you – " Lily started and James thrust a letter into her hands. 

Wondering what this was about, she unfolded the letter. It was written in shaky handwriting, with smears where the author had shed his own tears. It read: 

_James, _

_Something really bad has happened, it's all over the wizarding world's radio. Some…attack or something took place earlier this evening and… well, you'd better break the news to Lily gently. _

_Misty is dead. _

_Sirius _

Lily felt her heart jump into her throat. The world spun dangerously, like it had that day near the forest, but this time she knew she would not faint. …Dead? The word hardly seemed to have any meaning. She felt numb all over.  

"James…" she said hoarsely. 

"I'm so sorry, Lily…" James said as a few tears trickled down his face. 

"No!" Lily cried suddenly. She threw the letter down and looked up at James. Why was he blurry like that? No matter. "She's not dead! She can't be! She….she…" She blinked again. What was this? Oh. A tear. A tear down her cheek. Why was that there? Why….oh yes. "She can't be," she whispered. 

"Lily, Sirius heard it over the radio!" James said softly.   
  
She looked at him, her face an agonized mixture of confusion, grief and anger. For a second her features went blank. Dead. The word finally hit home. Her face crumpled and tears leaked out her eyes. Suddenly, her knees would not support her anymore. She fell to the floor, not even bothering to break her fall. Such emotion washed over her that she felt her heart might explode.

"She… cannot… be… dead! She just… can't!" Lily sobbed into the floor. "She's - my….my friend! And….she's alive……oh, God, James, she was alive…..I…..I saw her! I saw her……..I saw her today! She……can't…..be……dead! She was - right - there! Right….there…"

Her head spun, spun with images, with memories and with words. Misty had always been there for her, always been the one to comfort or cheer up. The one to joke around with, the one….the one….Lily shook her head, trying to shake out the pain, trying to shake out the anguish. Her eyes squeezed shut and the floor lurching beneath her. It couldn't be. It couldn't be. She sat up as much as she could, pulled her knees to her and cried more. Her face was burrowed between her knees and her red hair hung lifelessly in front of her, a curtain to her grief. 

James didn't know what to say. He was in no position to comfort her - he could not begin to fathom the emotions that must be flooding through her at learning she had lot a friend - but what else could he do? 

He sat down on the floor next to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. Her small frame was shaking, racked with sobs. He could hear her muttering to herself, and the fingers around her leg kept clenching and unclenching. After a minute, he began rubbing her back gently, soothingly. It seemed to help a little. Just the tiniest bit. The crying did not subside, though, and the shaking only weakened slightly.

"Lily… here, come back to your bed," he said quietly after a few minutes. He helped her up with some difficulty. She was sobbing so hard now she nearly fell back down, and that hair would not get out of her face. Perhaps it was better that way. James wasn't sure what he'd do if he had to witness her pain just then. 

He opened the door and began to lead her in. She gasped for breath and ran to throw herself onto her bed, her sobs somewhat muffled by her pillow. 

James slowly walked to her bed and sat down beside, letting her cry for a minute. 

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to say…" he said, rubbing her back once more. 

Lily let out several long, shaky sighs but each one only seemed to drive her into further hysterics. "Nothing can bring her back, James," she finally managed to choke out. "She's gone!"   
  


"I know," James said gently. 

Lily sat up, her cheeks damp and her eyes red and puffy. Several strands of hair clung to her face. "How can you possibly know? You have _no idea what it's like to lose - what it's like to lose a best friend!" And erupted into sobs again, leaning her forehead against his shoulder. _

"I don't know what it's like, but I can imagine it hurts like hell," James murmured. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his shirt. 

Lily felt drained. Her eyes were sore from crying, and she knew she must look terrible, but she couldn't stop. She - couldn't - stop. She surrendered to James' arms. She felt his strength seeping into her and slowly, ever so slowly, one slow second at a time, the pain began to subside for a moment. Subside, but not disappear. Never disappear. _Oh, Misty, Lily thought with a new round of tears, __why did you have to go?_

The rest of the night was spent quietly, both Gryffindors drawing in on each other's comfort, both sharing in each other's pain. She fell asleep, eventually, and James noted how peaceful she looked before doing the same. Lily never moved an inch, and James was glad she didn't.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**A/N: * sniffles * Sad chapter. It kills me to kill off Misty. You can thank my lovely Beta Reader, EnglishBrat, for the dramatic torrent of emotion. Please don't kill me for what I've done! I promise it's for the good of the story! R/R! **


	25. Alarming News

_A/n; _**It's ok to admit you cried when you found out Misty died! I cried while writing it because I knew I killed off my own character! * looks sad * But I'll bet you that you thought Lily and James would've actually had a 'moment' outside on the Quidditch Field. * guilty face * I was actually going to make them have a 'moment' but decided against it! Hahaha… **

**Oh my God, I love all of you guys! 150 reviews! * faints in shock * I'm so thankful to have everyone who reads my story! I never thought it would get this far, honest to God. **

**Thank you to Cate and Mary and Cat, from my school (Cat happens to be my Beta Reader) but thank you SO much to Mary and Cate because you guys are my best pals in science (Phrase of the Day rules) I LUV YOU GUYS!!! **

**Peace out, smoke weed – (not really) – IceAmethyst **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

_Every step I take_

_Every move I make_

_Every single day_

_Ever time I pray_

_I'll be missing you_

_Thinking of that day _

_When you went away _

_What a life to take_

_What a bond to break_

_I'll be missing you _

_{P. Diddy, 112 and Faith Evans: Tribute to the Notorious B.I.G.} _

Lily woke up, feeling as though someone had sucked up her soul and given her a dead, used, tattered and weathered one instead. Her head was resting on James' shoulder and although she'd probably be shrieking at the top of her lungs otherwise, she couldn't bring herself to hate him just then. He didn't deserve it; no one did. Her best friend had just _died _and she was in no mood to be worried about carrying on with her petty problems. 

James, having slept in a very awkward position, groaned as he awoke. Lily slowly lifted up her head, her neck severely cramped and her dried hair sticking to her face. 

"How are you doing?" James asked quietly. 

"Not good," Lily said miserably.  
  


"Well, you will be," James said smiling a bit. 

"You think so?" 

"I know so," James said. "You're Lily Evans. Nothing keeps you down for long." 

Lily smiled weakly, blushing. "Then why does it hurt so badly?" 

"Because it's supposed to. No one ever said death was easy," James commented. 

"I know _that_," Lily said biting her lip, "but why'd it have to happen to me? What did I ever do to deserve this?" 

"Well you have to admit, you're an awful bitch when you want to be!" James said indignantly. 

This time Lily really did smile. "I know." 

"So… maybe Misty's death will teach you something about being more humane towards people," James said. Her emotions like quicksilver, Lily's face darkened and she fixed James with a sinister look.

"Don't use Misty's death as an excuse to get me to _ever _think twice about being nice to you," she said viciously. "You don't _deserve _my attention!" 

"God Lily, don't do this," James groaned. 

"Don't do what? You're the one who comes in here to be my friend and all you do is insult me and make me feel like hell when my best friend has _died_! How's _that _for being humane, Potter?" Lily snapped. 

"Look, I'm sorry ok? This whole thing has me upset too!" James said gloomily. 

Lily sighed deeply and sat up, away from him. "Maybe it'd be better if you left." 

"I'll come back later… if you want," James said tentatively. 

Lily smiled. "I'd like that." 

He was halfway to the door when Lily's small voice came from her bed. "You can be pretty cool sometimes." 

James smiled kindly at her. "Yeah, you can too… when you're not being a first class, grade-A bitch." 

(_a/n; _**Oops sorry… had a Faculty moment… sorry! Resume, please) **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Lily sat on her bed, crying once again, with no James to comfort her this time. Strangely enough, the pain seemed to be much sharper without his strong, reassuring arms around her to soothe away the pain. 

_Bloody hell Lily, you're getting soft in your moment of pain_, she thought wryly. 

She'd received several letters, each more tearstained than the last until she finally received the last owl, Sabrina's. 

Fearful of what Sabrina's letter might say, she tossed it to the floor like her fingers had burned from touching the parchment. 

She looked out at the bleak sky; her emerald eyes filled with tears unshed. It wasn't snowing and it wasn't windy. It was just… still, calm, unmoving; like her world. It had shattered last night when James knocked on her door and then rebuilt itself in his arms, although the world she once knew, the happy Lily she once knew, was confused in this new world of pain and anguish. 

Lily wondered, as a few tears wandered down her cheeks, who could have the motive and insanity to kill Misty. No one she knew of was that sinister and hated Misty, and Lily or any of her friends could never hate enough to actually _kill _someon_e_. Lily supposed it could've been Severus or Lucius but discarded the idea quickly - the only thing they'd be capable of doing is a meek prank. 

Maybe it was an accident… maybe she'd gotten in front of a car or something. Lily quickly dismissed this thought: someone had deliberately killed her because no one else had been hurt or affected in any way. Someone had been after Misty… and hit their target. 

Shivers went up her spine. They weren't the good kind she got from James… they were the kind that made you look over your shoulder to confirm that there was no one behind you - and left you wondering nonetheless. 

The death of Misty was sure to plague her mind far beyond after all of the misfortunes had been cleared up. You just don't forget a best friend being murdered in a snap. 

Lily wondered just how different her life would be, without waking up every morning to Misty's cheerful whistling or her seeming never-ending happiness. She never really understood the saying 'you don't miss something until it's gone' until now. She'd never hear Misty's cheerful call or see her complaining about everything at Hogwarts when she was in a bad mood. As the tears started again, Lily felt she'd sell her soul to see Misty one last time.

"Lily? Are you all right?" James asked in a concerned voice, rapping on the door. 

Lily sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm fine!" 

"Come on out, it's nearly noon!" James coaxed.  

"I'm not hungry," Lily said blatantly. 

"Come on out anyway," James replied.

"No," Lily said flatly. 

"Do you want me to come in?" James asked. He sounded genuinely concerned 

Lily sighed. _He's still a pain even when he doesn't want to be_. 

"Lily? You there?" James asked, knocking on the door again. 

"Yeah," Lily said in a tiny voice. 

"Please come out, I can't stand the fact you're in there alone," James said, sounding a little whiny. 

"I'm fine in here!" Lily said. In years to come, she would learn to loathe coming back into that dormitory. 

"Lily, open the damned door!" James barked. 

"All right! I'm coming out," Lily sighed getting annoyed and threw the door open, nearly knocking James over. 

James grinned nevertheless. "Glad to see you've come out." 

"Yes, I've decided to grace Hogwarts with one last presence of Lily Evans before I completely hole myself up in the dorm and cry some more," Lily said lightly, walking down the stairs. Her tone was completely serious, though, and left no doubt that she would be doing just that.

James scratched his head, shrugged, and walked down with her to breakfast. 

Nearly everyone in the Great Hall stopped what they were doing, be it eating or talking, and looked up at Lily as she walked past, whispering amongst themselves. The whisperings were rather loud considering there were maybe twelve students at each table. It was all Lily could do to keep from running away and crying: getting empathy was something new to her… her parents never cared enough to wipe away her tears if she scraped her knees or got in trouble at school. 

She sat down stiffly and sat straight up, like there was a steel rod up against her back, giving her perfect posture. A few Gryffindors said across the table to her how sorry they were; she barely regarded them. 

James sat with one elbow leaned on the table, leaning his head on his fist. He picked at his eggs morosely. Neither of the two felt like eating. 

Lily's unwavering gaze on the saltshaker suddenly shifted to the teacher's table, as if some force lifted it there. Not one of them was making small talk and they were all focused on their plates. Professor Hughes wasn't trying to impress Professor McGonagall with his Charm skills like he usually did and Professor McGonagall wasn't laughing at Professor Hughes' antics. Even Professor Dumbledore, young as he was, looked solemn and drawn. 

To look at her teachers, to see the people who made Hogwarts such a happy place, was hard and even painful for Lily. She swallowed a sob trying to wriggle its way out of her. 

"Lily, I'm sorry," a first year boy said with light brown hair. 

"Oh, thank you," Lily said smiling sadly. 

"Hey Marvin! Practicing Quidditch?" James asked brightly. 

"Yes, sir, Mr. Potter sir!" Marvin said shooting out each word with precision. 

"I hope you'll be on the team next year, you'll be a good asset against those dirty Slytherins!" James said enthusiastically. 

"Are you going to be Captain next year?" Marvin asked. 

"I want to be, but there's Jonathan Quigley who's in his fifth year this year… he might be captain next year," James said with a glint of determination in his eyes. 

"Jonathan is attractive," Lily said monotonously.

James grimaced. "He's a lady killer." 

"Well, I'll see you guys! I've got to go finish off some homework!" Marvin said waving. 

"You're a lady-killer as well," Lily said shifting her gaze back to the salt and peppershakers. 

"Thanks… I think," James said uncertainly. 

"I'm not hungry," Lily declared, standing up. James swiftly stood up as well. 

Professor Dumbledore rose, telling Lily and James to stop. 

"I wish to talk to you after breakfast, please," Dumbledore said to Lily. 

Lily nodded meekly and walked out of the Hall, towards Dumbledore's office. 

"He probably just wants to talk to you about the funeral arrangements," James said quickly. 

Lily shrugged. "I'm not going."

James thought he'd heard her incorrectly. "What? Sorry, run that by me again?" 

"You heard me: I'm not going!" Lily said with a lump forming in her throat, "I can't take it." 

"But – ok, it'll be hard to finally say goodbye… but you owe it to Misty to see her one last time!" James reasoned. 

"I don't want to see her one last time being packed into a box!" Lily shouted, her eyes welling up at the awful thought. 

"Just think of it as her final resting place, where she'll finally be at peace," James said reasonably. 

A lone tear streaked down her face and she quickly wiped it away. "I'm not going." 

"Not going where, Miss Evans?" Dumbledore asked with his brow furrowed. Professor McGonagall was hovering behind him. 

"Nothing, Professor," Lily mumbled. 

"Come with me, Miss Evans," Dumbledore said, uttering the password and stepping inside. "Mr. Potter, you'd better come too." 

Confused, James followed them in. It was warm and welcoming in Dumbledore's office, but Lily could feel nothing but the cold stab of sorrow. 

"Sit there," Dumbledore said. He pointed towards the two chairs Lily had seen Sierra and Jaden sitting in when they'd first arrived. 

They both sat obediently. Professor McGonagall sat down in a chair opposite them, as did Dumbledore. He looked at them intently, as if trying to read their minds. The fingertips of his fingers were pressed together, his elbows resting on his desk. 

"Misty Hamilton has died. I'm sure you're both _very _aware of this," Dumbledore said at last. 

"Yes…" James said uncertainly. He… dragged them into his office to confirm what they'd already known? Lily sniffled and answer, and James patted her on the arm. He hoped she would not erupt again, though.

"Professor Dumbledore, I believe they are already aware – " Professor McGonagall began but was interrupted by Dumbledore. 

"Most people will tell you that her death was an accident Muggles in partcular cling to this idea," Dumbledore said in his same calmly grave voice. "But it is indeed _no _coincidence that she had died." 

Lily's jaw dropped. Her distress was forgotten for a second and replaced by a new feeling of dread. "What're you talking about?" 

James looked just as alarmed as she did. "Professor, are you sure you know what you're talking about? I mean, things like this happen all the time…" His sentence remained unfinished, lingering in the air. 

"Things like murder do not happen every day just because of coincidence," Dumbledore said severely. 

Lily's eyes flew open, her heart plummeting like she was on a roller coaster. "Did you just say that Misty was murdered?" 

Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore in shock. "Professor, we have had _no _information that Misty Hamilton was murdered. It was a mere fluke, she was hit by a car in France!" 

Dumbledore gave Professor McGonagall a very level look before fixing Lily and James with a severe stare that made them both squirm. 

"Lily, James, Professor McGonagall," Professor Dumbledore said quietly. His voice was more serious than before, and his face was grim, "what I am about to say you cannot utter to another living soul." 

James and Lily looked at one another, confused. 

"Please, promise me, you will not mention this to anyone," Professor Dumbledore said sternly. It was not a question, but more of a demand. 

"We promise," James said for the two of them. 

Dumbledore sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. "For some time, we've been tracking a new dark power on the rise. Worse than Grindelwald and his followers, they've got enough power and malice to launch an assault upon the entire Wizarding World." 

Lily, in all of her fear, looked over at James. His face was set and he seemed to be taking it all in with an open mind. 

"I've heard about them," James mused aloud. "They call themselves the Death Eaters. They go around doing horrible things wizards; blackmailing them, tormenting them, even killing loved ones all to persuade them to join the dark side."

"Death Eaters?" Lily asked, coming out of her torpor. "Weren't they the people who set fire to Sierra's house?" 

"Ah yes, the Lethesines. Certainly not evil, but caught in a bad circle. A man by the name of Victor, we believe, was in close relation to the family and sold them out," Dumbledore said grimly. 

"With all due respect, sir, all of this makes very little sense," Professor McGonagall saidm obviously perturbed. "Why would they deliberately go after Misty if there was no reason to?" 

"She _was _a pureblood," Lily said helpfully, thinking back to that fateful day when she, Misty and Sabrina had all met. 

James waved his hand, dismissing the idea. "She had no reason to be killed." 

"I suppose it will remain a mystery until we learn more about this new darkness that descends," Dumbledore said gravely. His words gave Lily an ominous chill down her spine. 

"Thank you Professor," she said unsteadily. Though she didn't really know if she _was _thankful. Did she _really need to know about the Death Eaters and their plan to seduce the Wizarding World into complete darkness? And the more she learned about Misty's death, the more mystery surrounded it. Lily knew it sounded crazy, but she felt there was something that Dumbledore didn't tell her. _

"You're welcome," Dumbledore said. "You may go now." 

"Come on, Lily," James said, patting her shoulder as they got up. 

"Oh, and Lily?" Professor Dumbledore called. Lily turned around, hoping he'd shed more light on the topic. "I'm sorry for your loss." 

Lily smiled sadly and gave a slight nod before she and James walked out the door. 

"Oh, Albus, what are we going to do now?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking distressed. 

"I don't know, Minerva. Lily seemed to take it all so well… I don't want to alarm her in her vulnerable state," Dumbledore said. 

"She must know, Albus. She _must know before it's too late," Professor McGonagall pressed. _

Dumbledore suddenly gave her a small smile. "Don't worry, dear Professor, James Potter wouldn't let a hair on her head be harmed." 

Professor McGonagall smiled as well. "He tries so very hard to hide it, I see it day by day. I declare, he's been in love with her since the first day I knew them!"

"Quite true," Dumbledore agreed. 

Professor McGonagall's smile sobered suddenly. "I hope you know what you're doing, Albus… they must be old and mature enough to handle it."  

Dumbledore heaved a heavy sigh. "All in good time, Minerva. All in good time." 

  
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

A/N: Oooh… ominous. What is this they're talking about? And what of Lily and James' romance??? Hmm… tune in next time to find out… um… more stuff and interesting plot twists! R/R


	26. Those Dangerous Things

**A/n; One of the last sad chapters I'll write dealing with Misty's death. There's this and then probably two other chapters. I hate to say this, but more sad stuff is to come! But… yay! Finally some Lily and James action! I know _Mary _is excited to hear this!**

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

When all had been said and done, James collapsed into bed still wearing his clothes. Misty's death had been draining and fearful for everyone at Hogwarts, but especially to Lily. He'd never seen her in such preoccupied, emotional stress. 

Turning over to his side so that he was facing the window, he looked at his nightstand table. The typical male stuff stood there: hair gel (not that it did much good), some cologne, a clock set in expensive wood with his name inscribed in gold below it, a Transfiguration book opened to the page they had homework on and a couple of pictures. One of those pictures was of him and Misty at Hogsmeade in the beginning of the year, when they had gone out. 

He smiled to himself and grabbed the picture off the stand. Lily took it with a Muggle camera so the memory was preserved forever. She looked so happy and full of life with a big smile and her cheeks red from the afternoon's excitement. 

_What kind of sick person kills someone like her?_ James thought, getting angry all over again. 

He set the picture back on the stand and rolled back over onto his back, his hands behind his head. James stared up at the ceiling, hoping something would distract him from the hellish holiday.

James really should've checked up on Lily; he didn't want her to do anything drastic. With the sinking of his heart, again he thought of Lily in her pain. How wretched for her to have to go through something like the death of a good friend! And to think, he'd been absolutely awful to her since their second year. She wasn't _that_ terrible… all right, so she was just as nasty to him, but she possessed the uncanny ability to make even the darkest room brighter. 

Realizing that he'd just thought she wasn't that bad, he groaned and pulled his pillow over his face, smelling the clean scent of freshly laundered pillowcases. He could just stay in bed and never leave it again; the bed never did _anything _to him. Lily, who'd bruised him more times than he'd like to count, had done plenty to hurt him. Maybe, in some cosmic force sort of way, the fates were warning her to live life a little less viciously. He hoped that was the case. He couldn't stand another brutal injury. It was hard enough to play Quidditch as it was without killing yourself on those runaway school brooms. 

"Knock knock," a voice said timidly. 

"It's open," James called, his voice muffled by his pillow. 

"You trying to suffocate yourself, Potter?" Lily asked softly but he picked up a hint of amusement in her voice. 

"Yeah. It's not working too well though," James said sitting up, putting the pillow in his lap. Lily laughed nervously, tugging at a stand of her red hair. 

"I – well – you know, I was just wandering around the Common Room, trying to figure out what to do with my life…" Lily started hopelessly, trying to come up with a good conversation. 

James cocked an eyebrow. "You're doing _what_ now?" 

"I'm phenomenally bored," Lily said with a large yawn. 

James nodded as if in understanding. "Well, if it helps, I'm fucking bored too!" 

Lily sat down on his bed, sinking into the fluffy mattress. "Wow… you're bed is really – soft…" 

"Thanks. The girl I last slept with said that too," James said flirtatiously. 

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're such a little imp, Potter." 

James shrugged, smiling in his usual charming manner. "What can I say?" 

"Well, you've got better beds than the girls do! It's like sleeping on a board!" Lily said enviously. 

"Too bad for you!" James said with a laugh. 

Lily shrugged, but smiled as well. 

_Bloody hell… she's gorgeous…_ James thought to himself suddenly. The moonlight was streaming in through the window; illuminating her pale skin and making her nearly glow… but not in the bad way, almost like an angel. Her red hair, though it looked a bit jaded, stood out stunningly against her creamy shoulders. To his surprise, the only thing she wore was a pastel-colored green nightgown with thin straps and went down just past her knees. _If only Sirius could see her now_, he thought and had to bite back a grin. 

"Potter… you ok? You spaced out on me," Lily said waving her hand in front of him. 

James blinked. "Sorry." 

"That's perfectly all right…" she murmured, looking down at the bedspread and blushing under his heavy gaze. 

"I wish I knew what to do to make you stop hurting," James said quietly. 

Lily looked up in mild astonishment. "You can't do anything James… nothing will help." 

James' heart constricted at the pain laced through those words. It was a helpless, sort of pleading phrase.

"And I meant – I meant to tell you earlier," Lily said biting her lip, "but thanks for being with me last night…" 

James held up his hand, silencing her. "Don't thank me, Lily, I would've done it anyway. One Gryffindor's pain is every Gryffindor's pain." 

Lily winced at how corny that sounded. James smiled in spite of himself. 

"Sorry – it seemed like the right thing to say," he said innocently. 

"I've never known you to be so cliché!" Lily said in astonishment. 

"Ah well, there are many things you don't know about me," James said a bit more seriously. 

"It's a pity our relationship never went anywhere," Lily said with a touch of remorse. 

James nodded solemnly, although he certainly felt it was getting somewhere now. "We could've really been something." 

"Hailed prankers," Lily said wistfully. 

"Best friends," James said, stretching it a bit. 

Lily kept her mouth closed but had been on the verge of saying _lovers_. She didn't realize how wrong she'd be by not saying that, because James was thinking the exact same thing. 

"So, funeral next week right?" she said to fill the awkward moment. 

"Yeah! I mean, yes it's quite sad," James said quickly. He couldn't help thinking he sounded a little too enthusiastic. 

"I can't believe she's really gone," Lily said in disbelief. 

"She's never _really _gone, Lily," James said practically. 

Lily looked at him and immediately wished she hadn't. He looked so handsome and – and carefree, sitting there on his bed with his legs crossed and his pillow in his lap. All he had worn the entire day were his plaid boxer pants and a white shirt. Lily mentally kicked herself from thinking those dangerous thoughts. His raven black hair looked so tempting that Lily just wanted to forget all of those boundaries she'd laid down and run her fingers through it. 

_Oh my LORD, it's happened_, she thought with mortification, _I'm turning into a giggly, gossiping girl who'd rather spend her time chewing bubblegum and twirling her hair than ever thinking about something serious! _

"What do you mean, she's never gone?" Lily asked remembering what they were talking about before she began fantasizing about him. 

"Well, do you honestly believe that a loved one is ever really _gone_?" James inquired. 

"I wouldn't know… too early to tell," Lily said quickly. 

"You tell me what its like one week after school's started and tell me _exactly _how you feel," James said. "You promise?" 

Lily nodded. "I promise." 

"Lily, are you sure you're ok? You seem kind of spacey," James asked, looking concerned. 

_Yes I'm perfectly fine, except for the fact that I THINK I'M FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU! _Lily's brain shouted. 

"Oh, I'm fine… consumed by grief, but fine," she said instead. 

James laughed and ruffled her hair. "You're ok, Carrots."

"You too," Lily said. 

James had to keep his hands firmly in his lap in order to keep them from wandering over to where she was sitting. He couldn't even begin to describe the mad need coursing through him, to be nearer to her, to know what she was thinking. And it only took a second; it only took her _presence _in the room to make him think those things, those dangerous things. The thought of feeling this – this overwhelmingly strong emotion (he couldn't place what it was) scared him out of his wits. Sure, he'd liked those girls he'd dated, but he'd _never _felt for them like he did Lily. 

"Bloody hell, Lily," he said finally. 

"What?" Lily asked, bewildered. 

"Nothing," James said quickly.

"James… is there something on your mind?" Lily asked tentatively. 

"Just – thinking about Misty," he replied. 

"Oh. Me too," she lied. Oh, she wanted to kiss him so badly! And it didn't even make any sense! Up until five minutes ago, she'd never had her insides turn to gooey mush when he spoke. She'd never noticed the way he said her name… or how he looked when he smiled in his own sexy way. She knew she was making an awful mistake - she'd have her heart broken within a week, tops. Lily disliked James, but she knew him better than most people. He was afraid of commitment, so when things got emotional, he backed out. She _couldn't _love him. She _could not_. Hell, she couldn't even _like _him. Lily Evans was no fool, not even for James Potter, who had made a fool out of a lot of girls. 

"What're you thinking about now?" James asked in a low voice. 

"Misty," Lily squeaked. 

"Come here, Lily," James said patting the space right next to him. 

She audibly gulped and crawled over to him, curling up against his chest. She inhaled deeply and suddenly she didn't hate the smell of his cologne. It was so… James. James slowly inched his arms around her slim waist, feeling the thin silky material that was the only hindrance that separated his hands from her skin. He nearly fainted. 

"This is crazy," James said in a barely audible whisper. 

Lily's heart rate increased upon hearing this. "I know." 

"Do you hate me, Lily?" James asked. She turned around so she could face him, finding his intense gaze again. He looked at her seriously, lifting her chin up with his hand. 

"Um –" Lily said but before she could utter the rest of her sentence, which would've been lanced with stutters anyway, he dropped his hand and kissed her, right on the mouth. 

Poor Lily nearly fainted in shock and yet at the same time, nearly squealed with delight. A thousand fireworks shot off in her head and warmed her from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. She felt dizzy for a minute, then realized who was kissing her: James Potter. Though she thoroughly enjoyed feeling the intimate contact, she was frightened and a bit apprehensive. All the bad memories of James came back at her and with a frightened whimper, she moved back. 

"Wha -?" James asked dazedly. He looked flushed, as though he couldn't believe he'd just done that, however much he'd enjoyed it. 

"James, I – I can't," Lily said timidly, "Please just… don't – don't –" 

"Don't do what? What're you talking about?" James asked confused. 

Lily let out a little panicked shriek. "I mean, don't _kiss _me or – or say things or – oh, God, I don't know just keep your distance!" 

"Are you all right?" James asked trying to pull her in closer to him. 

Lily struggled a tad then started crying. Big, salty tears dripped down her cheeks and fell onto the sheets. 

"Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry – I didn't realize you'd still be under that much stress," James said, feeling wretched having kissed her in such a vulnerable emotional stage. 

She threw her arms around his neck, crying into his shirt. "No, it's not that." 

"What is it, then? Please tell me," James said patting her back. 

"Don't play games, don't do this to me –" 

"I'm not playing any games, Lily," James said flatly. 

"Oh no? Then why did you kiss me?" Lily said sniffling. 

"Because – I think that I –" 

"No! Don't say it," Lily said quieting down now that she'd had her little vent. 

"All right then, I won't!" James replied. 

She exhaled deeply, resting her forehead on his shoulder. She hiccupped a few times, but other than that she was fine. He rubbed small circles on her lower back, reassuring her, telling her that he was still there. 

Finally, she raised her head up. She looked at him with her watery emerald eyes. "I'm sorry." 

"No, it's all my fault – I – I shouldn't have done that," he said sheepishly. 

"It was nice, for the most part," Lily said softly, kissing his cheek. 

"Really?" James asked slightly taken aback. 

"Mmhmm," Lily said kissing his other cheek. 

"What're you doing?" James asked apprehensively. 

"Just wondering about how James would react to something like this," Lily said in a slightly huskier voice, placing small kisses all the way around his jaw line. James grinned to himself; he was enjoying this far too much to come up with anything witty right now. 

He let his hands drop farther along down her slender yet curvy body until they reached her hips, and her fingertips drew small circles on them. She smiled against his neck as she kissed it all the way down to the juncture between the shoulder and neck. Wondering about what kind of reaction she'd get from him, she nipped it slightly. He jumped but moaned his approval. 

"James wishes Lily to know he liked that very much," James said in a definite lower voice. 

"Wait, I'm not done yet," Lily said, smiling impishly. 

"Not done yet?" James asked incredulously. Jesus, this girl was amazing. One minute she'd be an absolute bitch, the next she'd be crying her eyes out and then this tempestuous, fiery Lily Evans would emerge. He'd yet to explore the other sides of Lily, but so far her passionate, fiery side was the one he liked the best. 

She put her finger to his lips. "Don't talk." 

"Ok," James said stupidly. 

Lily laughed. "I want to know what it's like to kiss _you_." 

And with these words, she lowered her lips onto his. This time, the kiss lacked initial shyness and tentativeness. Slowly recovering from what Lily had said and done that had made him temporarily stupid, he wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, bringing her closer to him. Not protesting, she draped her arms around his neck. He tried a bit of tongue and it worked excellently, leaving Lily wanting much more than she could ever imagine. Again curious about how James reacted to certain things, she bit his lower lip a bit hard and tugged. His eyes flew open, moaning a bit more. Happily satisfied with these results, Lily pressed her lips a bit harder against his, wanting more out of the kiss. He happily obliged. 

Several breathless minutes later, she broke the kiss. James looked incredibly put out and slightly dumbfounded. 

"Lily, you're such a bad girl," James said smiling. 

She rolled her eyes, her lips red and kind of swollen. "Oh, you're the worst of them all." 

"That was a _very _interesting kissing session… can't say I've ever done anything like that," James said pondering aloud. 

"Oh, my God. What are people going to say when they find this out?" Lily asked. 

James laughed. "Let them say what they want." 

"Sounds all right to me," Lily said. 

"Where did you learn to – to do _that_?" He asked. 

Lily shrugged. "Don't know. I just wondered what it'd be like to do that." 

James laughed. "No girl has _ever _done that before for me." 

"Really? I would've thought that there would've been a lot more contact," Lily said in a blasé voice. 

"No, I wouldn't let them," he said. 

"You wouldn't _let them_?" Lily repeated shocked. 

"Yeah, all that stuff is just bogus what people say," James said indignantly. 

"Well, that's news to me…" she replied. 

"See? There are a lot of things you don't know about me," James said simply. 

Lily yawned. "You're right about that… but I hope it changes. I'm going to bed!" 

She kissed him again, softly and sweetly. He took a chance and ran his fingers through her silky red hair. 

"We're getting too attached," James said in a guilty voice. 

"I don't mind if you don't," Lily said shrugging and walked out. 

James sat back, happier than he had been in days, recalling how she smelled and how her lips felt so warm and smooth. 

Absolutely giddy with happiness, Lily skipped back to her room. She could've burst out into song… if she could sing. No one had ever kissed her the way James had… he was so _experienced_ and knew what to do and… oh, it was just perfect. 

Of course, not that she would've had anyone to compare his kisses to… her first kiss was James Potter. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**A/N: Aww… too sweet! And a bit of (ok, a LOT of) l/j fluff! Yes, this was a bit more lighthearted than I had intended but aw HELL! I'm so tired of them fighting, aren't you? (beta reader: Yes…yes we are.)**


	27. Goodbye Misty Until We Meet Again

_A/n; _**Ahahahahaha… turns out that last chapter was rather fluffy. I didn't mean for it to be _that _fluffy but HECK it was surely needed, wasn't it? **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

_When you're standing on the edge of nowhere_

_There's only one way out_

_So your heart's got to go there_

_Through the darkest nights_

_See the light shine bright _

_When heroes fall in love or war_

_They live forever_

_This is a song for the lonely_

_Can you hear me tonight?_

_For the brokenhearted, battle scarred_

_I'll be by your side_

_And this is a song for the lonely_

_When your dreams won't come true_

_Can you hear this prayer?_

_Because someone's there for you _

{Cher, _Song for the Lonely}_

Trying for the umpteenth time to flatten his hair, James finally gave up. He looked ridiculous (or so _he _thought) wearing one of those absurd tuxedo things the Muggles wore. Lily made him wear it because it was a formal occasion and robes wouldn't be appropriate. Surprisingly enough, he obeyed her for once in his life. 

Things seemed so different between James and Lily now. She hadn't said one nasty word to him all day and even smiled at him at breakfast. 

The kiss had changed everything, every single damned thing. James sighed; he'd lost his target at pranks. He supposed he'd go for Severus and Malfoy, since he already did, but taunting Lily didn't seem like such fun anymore. Sirius would have a field day when he found out they'd kissed. 

"James? Are you ready to go down?" Lily asked knocking on the door. James heaved a little sigh, straightened his jacket and walked over to the door. 

"Do I look all right?" James asked self-consciously. 

Lily smiled and nodded. 

"You mean it doesn't make my butt look big?" James said imitating some of the girls at Hogwarts. 

Lily laughed. "Well… now that you mention it – "

"Haha, no. Don't even say it," James said smiling. 

"No, you look like – like a Muggle," Lily said truthfully. 

"Is that good?" James asked blankly. 

Lily nodded. _Yes, you look like a Muggle… like some damned bloody gorgeous Muggle! _

"You don't look bad yourself, Carrots," James said eyeing her with interest. She wore a plain black dress with thin straps (she seemed to like this look) and shoes with barely any heel, improving her height a tad. Her hair was piled up in an elegant yet complicated style that probably took her the whole day to figure out and had a large white silk scarf draped around her shoulders. 

"Yeah, yeah, don't get any ideas," Lily said rolling her eyes. 

"No I mean it! You look good," James exclaimed candidly. 

"All right…" Lily said biting her lip, "this is going to be so hard." 

James nodded, feeling badly for her. "I know. But hey, everyone's going to be there!" 

"I know! I can't wait to see everyone –" 

"Lily?" 

"Yes?" Lily asked. 

"You're not going to tell anyone about – you know, the kiss?" James asked uncomfortably. 

Lily raised an eyebrow, smirking mischievously. "What, and ruin my reputation for hating you? I don't think so!" 

"Good girl," James said smiling, giving her a pat on the butt. 

Lily turned around with an indignant expression on her face and slapped him across the face. 

"Ow! What was that for?" James asked sourly, rubbing his face where she'd slapped him. 

Lily smiled genuinely. "You're such a flirt!"

"I was _just _showing my appreciation," James said defensively. 

"Dumbass," Lily said rolling her eyes. 

"Come on, we're going to be late," James said grabbing her hand and trotted down the stairs.  

The castle was decorated in black and white daisies, Misty's favorite flower. Looking in a mirror as she and James walked past, she noticed the extreme contrast between them. She was short, fiery and red haired; he was tall, sexy and had pitch-black raven hair. Their relationship was black and white, day and night, hot and cold… but somehow, it didn't matter to Lily anymore. 

"Oh, my God…"

"Look at all of those people!" James let out a low whistle. 

"All here to see Misty," Lily said sadly. 

He gave her a quick hug. "It's ok." 

"No, no it's not," Lily said shaking her head, "what will everyone think when they see you hugging me and comforting me and all of that?"   
  


"Be a marvelous actress," James said spotting Sirius. 

"James! Lily! Are you guys all right?" Sirius asked looking most, well, like his name. 

"Oh yeah, we're fine… if you count the fact I've had to suffer with Potter this whole week! It's been a bloody nightmare, him coming into my room and telling me to stop crying! He's a bloody insensitive little brat! Can't he understand that Misty has just _died_?" Lily said melodramatically, overdoing it just a tad. James shot her a warning look; she smiled guiltily back in his direction. 

"Poor Lily," Sirius said sympathetically. Lily nearly burst out laughing; thank God he didn't suspect a thing! 

James had a scowl on his face. "Yeah, well it's been no picnic with you either, Evans." 

"Get stuffed Potter," Lily said unhappily. She spotted Arabella, Sierra and Sabrina milling around sniffling and talking to other people. 

"Arabella! Sabrina, Sierra! Over here!" Lily waved. They spotted their friend and weak smiles shone on their faces. 

"Oh, Lily! It's just awful," Sabrina said with tears running down her face. 

Lily embraced them all at the same time, like a big family reunion. She'd missed her friends so much! And she couldn't even tell them about her and James. 

"I haven't been able to stop crying all week!" Sierra said also crying. 

By this time, all the girls were crying rather hysterically. Sabrina's heavy black eye makeup was running in black streaky rivers down her face but she didn't bother to wipe her face off.

"Sierra! God, I'm glad to see you," Sirius said looking a bit teary-eyed himself. Lily looked wistfully at Sierra and Sirius, the way he wrapped his arms around her waist, almost like he was protecting her. She looked over at James, also nearly crying, and wishing she hadn't lied to Sirius. 

"I cannot believe she's gone," Sierra said quietly, wrapping her arms around Sirius's neck and nearly strangling him.

Arabella sniffled loudly. "All right, I'm not one to cry – " 

Lily laughed in spite of herself. "Aw, it's all right Bella, everyone needs to let loose once in a while." 

Arabella nodded, wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve. 

"So Lily, was James perfectly awful to you?" Sierra asked with a wink. 

"He's so goddamn unsympathetic!" Lily whined in a convincing tone. 

"Yeah well, Evans nearly threw herself at me in her temporary lapse of thought!" James scowled. 

"All right you guys, the one time you can forget your discrepancies would be at Misty's funeral! She'd appreciate it if you could be civil," Sabrina said in a pained voice. 

Lily and James pretended to look guilty. "We're sorry." 

Dumbledore was gathering up his notes to perform a eulogy as he stood solemnly at the podium set up near Misty's coffin. They all hurried to find seats among weeping students. Lily found a row of six near the front reserved for them (since they _were _Misty's friends) but Remus wasn't there. 

James immediately sat next to Lily and the seating ordering went: Sirius, Sierra, Lily, James, Sabrina and Arabella. 

Dumbledore looked up at all of the grieving people, a sad smile on his face. "Welcome students, back to Hogwarts for a bitter goodbye." 

Arabella sniffled loudly and got out a handkerchief. 

"For most of you, Misty Hamilton was your average student. She never did anything out of the ordinary or amused us with entertaining pranks," Dumbledore said looking over in James and Sirius' direction, "but whether or not you noticed her, Misty was always there. She was always willing to lend a hand and had a smile on her face whenever I saw her. Misty was full of life, loved life and lived it to the extent that if she ever thought she would die, she would've lived a fulfilled life. No one ever expected that this philosophy might come true however, and it has shocked us all deeply and left many questions unanswered at this time." 

Lily nodded in agreement as his words. James discreetly took her hand under their chairs, squeezing it slightly. He was trembling. 

"The cruel and unexpected death of Misty has taught us all one thing, among our grief: always expect the unexpected; live life to it's full extent. For I, and many others, have sensed that these coming years will be bittersweet with few times for celebration and merriment. Always remember Misty Hamilton and the life she could've had, and that life is a precious thing. Do not take others for granted and make amends while you can." 

Sierra looked at Lily pointedly as Dumbledore said that last sentence. 

"Remember that there is good and evil in the world and it is your choice to make the right decision. Misty was pure hearted and innocent, but was in the end conquered by a force too great and dark to imagine. Never forget Misty; never forget your own true destiny. You alone could carry the fate of the world," Dumbledore said concluding his speech. 

Everyone applauded rather loudly and everyone, this time including James, in Lily's row was now in fresh tears. 

"You may now go up and say a final goodbye to Misty," Dumbledore said in a hoarse voice, unable to say any more. 

Lily let go of James' hand before anyone could see them. She felt stupid, having to hide something that was apparently evident to everyone at Hogwarts. 

She couldn't think of anything to say; her throat felt constricted and dry. Lily kept on having to repeatedly swallow a lump forming in her throat, if she didn't she might let out a howl to wake the dead. 

"Come on Lily," Sirius said helping her up. She slowly made her way through the line and approached the richly-carven coffin in which her friend lay. 

Inhaling a sharp breath, she saw Misty lying there with her hands folded in her lap. She looked so peaceful, as though she were sleeping and fully alive. Her golden hair was laid out on the silken pillow where her head would rest eternally on. Misty's favorite ribbon was tied to her pale wrist and she was dressed in a formal midnight blue dress. 

"Misty," Lily said quietly, running her hand along the smooth surface of the coffin, "can you hear me?" 

Of course she didn't get any reply, but she felt as though Misty was there in spirit. "I can't believe you're gone. You've been with me through everything since I arrived at Hogwarts… and I can't believe you're gone." 

By this time, her entire body shook with bottled-up sobs and leant heavily on the casket. "Why did you have to leave me, Misty? You had so much life and it was all taken away!" 

Alarmed by her emotional outburst, James grabbed her wrist. He whirled her around and saw the pain in her eyes, her eyes looked so cold and unfamiliar. "Lily?" 

"It's not fair dammit! It's not fair!" Lily shouted to no one in particular, slumping over to the floor and positively crying her eyes out. 

Most people looked at her in shock, others in pity with whisperings among themselves. Her friends came over to try and help her out but she just sat right next to Misty's coffin and wouldn't leave. 

James tried to get her to stand up but she brushed him off, still sobbing quite hysterically. Sirius grabbed James' arm and pulled him up, looking at him and telling him not to bother her. 

He looked at her; her knees drawn tightly up to her chest and her red hair falling out of its twisting at the top of her head, her petite frame shaking with sobs that hadn't yet come out yet. Tears streamed down James' face at the fact of Lily facing life without her closest friend. 

When everyone else, including their friends, was done paying their respects to Misty, they all sat back down and Sirius and James had finally succeeded in lifting Lily off the floor. 

The people burying Misty had come for the coffin and with Lily taking one last lingering look at her friend, with the memory of her peaceful face haunting Lily for the rest of her life, they shut the coffin lid with a small dry click. 

Lily nor Sierra, Sirius, James, Arabella, Sabrina, or Remus would ever see Misty again. And it hurt it hurt so badly. There was a proceeding for the burial of the coffin out to a cemetery in the Muggle world, but the friends stayed back at the castle and went immediately back up to their rooms. 

Lily bawled her eyes out the whole night, as did the rest of the girls and all James could do was sit in his dormitory with an aching in his heart and occasionally hear a fresh wail of pain and sorrow that tore through his heart like a sheet of paper. 

Sirius tried to sleep, but kept waking up and rubbing his eyes furiously, trying not to weep. 

It was a restless night, and so was the night after that… and after that… and after that… 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**Ok, I cried very much during this chapter more so than last chapter! Goodbye Misty. * goes off crying some more *  **


	28. The Perfect Meeting

_A/n; _**Ok, I promised no more sad chapters (for the meantime) and I think I'll keep my promise! Again, thumbs up to my readers! Lets push for 200 reviews, ok? **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

With Misty's death slowly fading out of the picture, life getting back to normal and school starting up again, Lily had a lot on her plate. There were those small occurrences of sleepless nights and a way to hide the fact that she and James were unofficially seeing each other, which needless to say complicated things a bit more. 

Of course her friends (and his) suspected something was up: James hadn't dated a girl since before Christmas break and Lily seemed uncharacteristically cheerful around him. 

"You're sure nothing happened over break?" Arabella asked Lily after lunch one morning. Lily was busy sticking some mints into her bag and pretended not to hear the question. 

"You won't get anything out of her remember? She stopped answering it after we'd asked her over dinner last week!" Sabrina complained. 

Lily smiled. Pretending to be blissfully unaware was the easiest task in the world. 

"Ugh. Herbology. Could there _be _a more muddy, disgusting subject?" Sierra asked as they all walked across the grounds, coated with freshly fallen snow. 

Happy they were off the subject of James, Lily piped up: "I like Herbology! It's so wonderful; it's like working in your own magical garden!" 

"Not to mention those stupid plants _bite _you," Sierra commented sourly. 

"That was your own fault, you forgot the fact they like to be sung to," Lily said in a lofty voice. 

"Misty had a lovely voice," Arabella said completely off the topic. Lily sent her a death glare: anyone who ever mentioned her deceased friend made Lily shut up. 

"Ooh you guys, hold that thought, I have to go ask Sirius something," Sierra said quickly and ran to catch up with Sirius, who was nearly at the greenhouse door. 

Sabrina kicked a bit of snow up into the air, watching as tiny particles of it floated back down to the ground. "I wish it wasn't so bloody cold out here!" 

"I know," Lily said with her cheeks red and her teeth chattering, "lets run. We've only got a short way to go!" 

And the four of them, looking ridiculous holding their hair so it wouldn't mess up, ran all the way to the greenhouse and closed the door behind them. It was warm and slightly humid in the greenhouse, as they were studying Fwoopers. 

Lily removed her cloak and scarf and set them neatly on her chair and went to go socialize before the professor came in. She didn't see James, much to her disappointment but he came in a few minutes later. 

All the girls immediately put on their sugary sweet smiles and swarmed over to him like bees on honey. Lily rolled her eyes: even if she was 'unofficially' dating him, she couldn't get over the fact there were a lot of girls at Hogwarts who still thought he was available. James pushed past the haggle of girls, apologizing profusely and flashing off one of his 'incredibly charming sorry I gotta go' smiles. 

"God, do you ever get tired of being Mr. Celebrity?" Lily asked grinning. 

James shook out the snow in his hair, grinning as well. "Nah. You kidding? I love getting this many admirers!" 

"Even me?" Lily asked. 

"You're special Lily, you didn't have to chase after me," he said quietly, wrapping his finger around his favorite tendril near her face. 

Lily's lips curved into a dreamy smile. "You of all people, should've learned your lesson a long time ago. Rule Number One of Falling in Love: never chase after what you want. Let it come to you." 

"Who made up that rule?" James asked. 

Lily shrugged. "Just a philosophy I've adopted." 

"Guess we both got what we wanted," he said leaning in closer to her. Surprised, she pushed him back. 

"What're you doing?" Lily asked looking at him as though her were crazy. 

"I was… going to kiss you?" James replied confused. 

"Not in public, remember?" Lily hissed, looking over at everyone else in the humid greenhouse to see if they saw anything. 

"Lily, they're going to find out sooner or later," James said irritated. Why does she want to hide it any longer? James didn't know if he wanted to keep it secret for much longer. 

"Just – understand that I have my reasons, ok?" Lily said apologetically. 

James nodded mutely, his jaw set firmly. It was to be interpreted as his mad stance, as Lily had found out. 

"Come on James, I want to tell people about us just as much as you do," Lily said trying to coax him into saying anything, "but don't you think we should wait a little bit?" 

"What good will it do to delay the truth a few more days?" James asked. 

"Look I just _don't _want to tell anyone right now. Can we talk about this later?" Lily said desperately.

"Sure," James said shortly and went to go sit down with Sirius and Remus and Peter. 

Lily breathed out deeply, frustrated at this new situation. Sure, she wanted to exclaim to the whole world at the top of her lungs that she and James liked each other but what would they _think_? Her professors would probably die of heart attacks, her friends would tease her to no end and it'd be awkward as hell kissing in public in front of the whole bloody school. 

"Morning class! Bit chilly outside, don't you think?" Short Professor Gallegos said, wiping snow off herself. 

"Yes Professor Gallegos," the class said in a monotonous voice. Lily could feel herself starting to perspire in the warm temperature and put her hair into a high ponytail, rolling up her sleeves as well. 

"Certainly is hot in here isn't it? Mister Filch must've been in here," Professor Gallegos said suddenly noticing the temperature. 

"Like Hades, Professor!" Remus piped up. 

"Thank you for your input, Mr. Lupin," Professor Gallegos said sternly, "you can remove your robes if you want. No one's going to see us." 

(_a/n; _**it's getting hot in herre… so take off all your clothes… haha)**

Lily gratefully took off the heavy black garment and hung it on the back of her chair. It was the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs in Herbology today so the Hufflepuffs were dressed in their uniforms and the Gryffindors were wearing theirs. 

"Mister Potter and Mister Black, would you _please _refrain from turning my classroom into a male strip club? Please just remove your robes and sit down!" Professor Gallegos said blushing slightly. James and Sirius were standing on their desks doing an elaborate show of taking off their robes. They sat down, but only after they'd thrown their robes to the gaggle of girls who happened to have flocked to their desks and two girls fought over Sirius'. 

Lily rolled her eyes, irked. She was _unofficially _(that means MORE THAN not being his girlfriend) his girlfriend, yet he still acted like he was single and living it up. She made a mental note to tell everyone single person in the Great Hall at the next meal that James _wasn't _single. 

"Well, thank you for heating things up a bit more gentlemen," Professor Gallegos said sternly, "if it gets any hotter, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will cool things down. In his office." 

James and Sirius high-fived each other once Professor Gallegos had turned around to get the class roster. 

"Ok, ok. Settle down class," she said, "we're going to be working in groups today!" 

"Hoorah," Sierra said morosely, flicking a piece of parchment off her desk. 

"I've already assigned partners," Professor Gallegos said, accompanied by groans, "so I'll just read off your names and partners." 

"I hope to God I'm partnered with Sirius," Sierra commented looking slightly more gleeful. 

"Potter and McPherson." James looked over at a slightly nerdy girl with thick glasses. Sirius laughed and elbowed James hard in the ribs. The McPherson girl looked pleased with herself. 

"Lethesine and Mason." Sierra groaned; one of the Hufflepuff Chasers was her partner. 

"Evans and Black!" Lily was astounded and yet at the same time amused that the Professor had put them together. 

Once all the names had been read out, there was a noise of great scuffling across the floors as people scrambled to get with their partners. 

"So… Lily! We're partners!" Sirius said brightly. 

"FanBLOODYtastic," Lily said in a bored tone. 

"Aw, we'll have none of that! We're friends, right?" Sirius asked merrily, mussing Lily's hair. 

Lily scowled and went up to Professor Gallegos to get their Fwooper. She sat down with the strange-looking bird (it's plumage was lime green.) 

"Argh. Dad brought one of these home one time, got him from a shoddy owner. Wouldn't stop with his bloody song and it nearly drove us all insane!" Sirius said with a look of distaste on his face. 

"Don't worry, it's got it's Silencing Charm on it," Lily reassured him. 

"So what're we supposed to do with it?" Sirius asked blankly. 

"Says on the paper we're supposed to study its eating habits and how it… survives in its surrounding environment," Lily said pointing to the parchment with notes written on it. 

"Great! Um… you give it whatever the hell it eats and we'll just talk while it eats," Sirius said tossing the Fwooper some lettuce-like food. 

"Great," Lily said unenthusiastically. 

Sirius yawned, raising his arms above his head and stretching. "So… how've you been holding up?" 

"Just fine, thank you," Lily said shortly. 

"Just fine? That's good… you know, you haven't said a _word _about what happened during Christmas break…" Sirius said letting his sentence drop off suggestively. 

Lily froze up for a minute. "Wha – where are you getting at?" 

"Nowhere!" Sirius said inspecting his nails in an unconcerned sort of way, "just… wondering." 

"It was wonderful. I spent a lot of time in the library reading some of my favorite Muggle books," Lily said with her teeth clenched. 

Sirius tapped his nose knowingly. "And what else?" 

"There _was _nothing else. I breathed some air!" Lily said irritated, "why do you want to know?" 

"Lily! Why do you even _ask _me that?" Sirius mimicked being stabbed through the heart, "all I want to know is what happened to my best buddy over the holidays." 

Lily began to wonder about her and James' secret relationship. "Did _James _say anything to you about vacation?" 

"He could've…" Sirius said mysteriously. 

"Out with it, Black!" Lily snapped. 

"All he said was that you talked to him a few times during dinner and I, being the nosy little bugger I am, was wondering if _anything else _happened to you guys," Sirius said smiling. 

"You're bloody impossible, you know that? You're like a bloodhound or something!" Lily said finding to her horror to be blushing. 

"So I take it nothing happened?" Sirius asked, knowing perfectly well what was happening. 

"Nothing. Happened," Lily said flatly. 

"All right then!" Sirius said back to his usual chipper mood, pretending like nothing had happened. 

The Fwooper had finished its first meal and Sirius was recording it down on a piece of parchment. While Sirius' back was turned, a note came flying onto their desk. Looking around to see who'd sent it, she picked it up cautiously. 

_Lily_, it said in a fancy script. Intrigued, she opened it up. 

_Lils ~ _(she _HATED _when he called her that)

Sorry if I've been giving you a lot to handle… I know you're still reeling about Misty. But Lily, I've got to know about us… and this is going to sound like some cheap, cheesy innuendo but would you mind meeting me at the Astronomy Tower tonight at midnight? I'd go somewhere else but that's the only place I know my friends won't follow me. Sick, isn't it? 

James 

Lily smiled, pocketing the note. _Stupid bugger, trying to lure me up to the Astronomy Tower…_

"Ok, the Fwoopers trying to regurgitate its last meal," Sirius said looking disgusted at the lime-green bird. 

Lily turned around, looking disgusted as well. "Wait until it's done." 

"Ew no! I'm not picking it up!" Sirius exclaimed. 

"Ugh! How can you even _suggest _that _I _pick it up?" Lily asked in revulsion. 

"Dump it out outside," Sirius suggested. The Fwooper was done with it's little… episode and was now trying to sing, which didn't go off very well considering the fact that he couldn't make any noise. 

Lily gingerly took the tray with food on it and ran to the door, dumped the contents and ran back, dropping the tray with a loud clatter back onto the desk. 

"Ok _ew_," Lily said emphasizing the _EW._

"Yeah," Sirius said also looking nauseated. 

"Professor Gallegos! We're done!" Lily said waving her hand around. 

Professor Gallegos, who was making the rounds around the classroom, came over to inspect their work. 

"Hmm… and he ate _all _of it?" she asked. 

"Yes," Lily said shortly. 

"All right! It looks like you did a wonderful job, lovely notes by the way Miss Evans," Professor Gallegos said smiling proudly at Lily and walked off with the tray and their notes. 

"_Lovely notes by the way Miss Evans_," Sirius said, mimicking her in a high-pitched voice. 

Lily rolled her eyes. "Sorry I'm perfect, Sirius."

Sirius laughed. "You're not perfect!" 

"Oh, I so bloody am! Ask anyone!" Lily said in a fake arrogant voice. 

Sirius stood up on his desk and immediately everyone's attention turned to him. James grinned up at Sirius and then looked at Lily, shrugging. 

"Who here thinks that Lily Evans is Little Miss Perfect?" 

Lily's jaw dropped, embarrassed. "SIRIUS BLACK! SIT DOWN!"

"Relax Lils… one, two, three, four – " he started counting hands. 

Hot tears of embarrassment stung her eyes. "Sirius, you really don't have to prove that –" 

"35!" 

James looked a tad peeved as well and tugged Sirius down. "What the hell was that?" 

"I was just wondering how many people thought Lily was perfect," Sirius said honestly. 

"Stupid git," James said whacking Sirius over the head, "she's _not _perfect." 

"And of course _you'd_ know this," Sirius said winking. 

James had to fight very hard to keep a straight face. Perfect, naïve, innocent Lily Evans wasn't so perfect, naïve _or _innocent as everyone thought. 

"Well – I mean, I _wouldn't _but… come on Si, no one's perfect," James reasoned. 

"True!" Sirius said brightly. 

"Now go apologize to Lily for making that ridiculous comment," James said firmly. 

Sirius gasped. "You think she was hurt by what I said?" 

James hit his forehead comically with the heel of his hand. "Sirius, for someone who knows a lot about girls… we have to teach you more." 

"LILY! I'm SORRY!" Sirius yelled running over to Lily and giving her a massive hug. 

Lily looked positively mortified and tried to pry herself out of Sirius' death grip. "It's _fine_… but can you please stop trying to suffocate me?" 

"I didn't _mean _to say it meanly! It was all a bit of fun," Sirius said with an apologetic smile. 

Lily smiled back. "Hey, it doesn't bother me: I don't care if people think I'm perfect or not." 

"Well, you kind of are – " 

"SIRIUS!" 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

Her watch read 11:45 as she slid out of bed, grabbing her cloak on the way. Lily's breaths came out in puffs of vapor as she hurried to get to the Astronomy Tower on time. Her slippers made no noise as she crept along in the shadows in between the dim lights of torches lit in the long corridors. She had brought along her wand… just in case. 

Reaching the door of the Tower, she pulled the door handle open slowly. Creaking, the door swung open and Lily slipped in. 

James wasn't there yet (or so she thought) but she couldn't see anything anyway. 

"_Lumos_," she whispered, the tip of her wand glowing brightly. 

"Lily?" 

Lily shrieked slightly. "James? Bloody _hell_ you scared me!" 

"Sorry," he said with a smile. He was sitting calmly with his legs crossed on a chair. 

"Why's it so dark in here? Doesn't Professor Sinistra keep candles up here?" Lily asked not bothering to notice why it was barely lit. 

"Yeah, but only when she's got a class," James said. 

"Oh," Lily said in a defeated voice, "so we're just going to sit here in the dark?" 

"Sure, why not?" James said brightly. 

Lily's teeth started chattering rather loudly and James could see her face out of the dim wandlight. 

"Cold?" James asked. 

"Just a little," Lily said shivering.

"Can I warm you up?" James asked in a perfectly normal voice. 

Lily looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you trying to seduce me?" 

"That depends… are you seducible?" 

"Oh…" Lily said blushing furiously, "no, I don't think I'm _easily _seducible." 

"Then we should work a bit harder at that, don't you think?" James asked with a sexy smile. 

With a snap of his fingers (and Lily wondering _how in the world _he did that) the room was illuminated with candles. 

"Wow," Lily said dumbfounded, "so _this _is what you practice in your spare time?" 

James snorted. "Yeah, I practice snapping my fingers and making candles appear." 

"Sounds fascinating," Lily said playing along. 

"This room… once no one uses it, is me and Sirius' masterpiece," James said. 

Lily raised an eyebrow. "It's quite nice… a bit cold for any snogging though, don't you think?" 

"What, you'd rather go back to my bed and do it?" 

"Stop doing that!" Lily said smiling and blushing even more.

"Stop doing what?" James asked innocently. 

"Stop – dropping hints!" 

"I think you're just taking my hints a bit too seriously," James said winking. 

"If you weren't such a handsome git, I'd slap you," Lily said. 

"Thanks," James said, "but in all honesty, seducing you sounds like a wonderful idea." 

"In all honesty," Lily said repeating James, "I'm bloody cold and you still haven't told me why you wanted me here!" 

James shook his head slightly, getting up from his chair and crossing the room over to where Lily was standing. He grabbed her icy hands and started to massage them to make them warmer. 

"You're like an ice cube," James said softly in a half-joking voice. 

Lily laughed quietly. "I should've brought mittens." 

He brought his head up to look at her. She was watching his hands as they continued warming her chilled fingers with a concentrated gaze, chewing slightly on her bottom lip. Lily sensed he was watching her and her eyes shifted upwards. James loved her eyes: they were so trusting and warm (yet they could become stormy and passionate as well.) He'd never known any girl with so much spirit and fierceness. 

"Lily –" James said abruptly. 

"Yes?" Lily asked slightly startled. 

"Oh, sod it," he said and kissed her. Taken by surprise, she nearly pulled back. He half consciously pulled her closer to him, his hands staying firmly on her waist. Her eyelids fluttered slightly, being this close to James… feeling him so near… she'd never felt this way before in her life. Feeling the kiss intensify, she opened her mouth a bit and let his tongue slide in. Lily entangled her hands in his hair, feeling the silkiness all the girls talked about. She had to give him credit; he knew what he was doing. 

It was James who finally broke the kiss, after exploring every crevice in her mouth, because he was getting a bit short on breath. Lily stood there, gaping like an idiot, her lips red and swollen. 

"Why'd you stop?" Lily asked with a pout.

"Had to – catch my breath," James said still trying to regain his breath. 

Lily smiled, feeling his heartbeat start to slow down. "Do you always get this way after kissing a girl?" 

"No Lily, you really knock the breath out of me," James said sincerely, capturing her lips in another kiss. 

This went on for several minutes and eventually Lily forgot that she was cold. The minutes went ticking by, but for them time stood still. She sighed contentedly as she felt his warm lips move from her mouth, to nip at her earlobe and then traveling down her neck to the base of it. She grinned as he sucked slow and steadily on the skin there. And that proceeded to take a few minutes until he decided he was done. 

"Uh… so I guess this means we're going out?" Lily asked stupidly. 

"Guess so!" James said brightly. 

"Great…" Lily said pausing, "this… feels… great…"

"I suppose it's always awkward at first," James said frowning a little. 

"Oh, I'm sure," Lily said quickly. 

"Well, we'd better get back to our rooms, they'll be wondering where we are," James said getting his cloak. 

Lily nodded sleepily. She didn't realize how tired she was until just then. 

"Oh! Right! I forgot to give you this," James said running back to the chair and grabbing a dark blue paper box. It said 'Gladrags Wizarding Wear' in gold on the front. 

Lily looked up at him, suspicious. She slowly lifted off the top and to her amazement; the beautiful shimmery gray dress robe she'd seen and adored lay neatly in the box. 

"Oh, James," Lily said in an awed whisper, tears of happiness welling in her eyes. 

"I know you've wanted that robe for a while, so… Merry Belated Christmas, Lily," James said. 

"I – I don't know what to say… except thank you so, so much," Lily said quietly, kissing him on the cheek. 

"It was no big deal," James said shrugging, "I mean even though they were sold out of that robe the day I went in to purchase it and I had to ask them to specifically make one which meant I had to pay more money for it and it had to be specially delivered to me –" 

Lily laughed. "All that for me, eh?" 

"You're worth it," he said shrugging. 

"Thank you," Lily said, "you've made my life more bearable these past weeks." 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**Hahaha… cliffy. Sorry, but ok, it was probably really predictable that he would've gotten her the dress robe… but I _had to _make him get them for her! It was so cute… and the story doesn't end here… prepare yourself for the most shocking plot-twist – aw never mind you've probably figured it out by now =) R/R! **

**~IceAmethyst **


	29. Thanks A Lot Sirius

_A/n; _**This is going to be the _perfect _plot twist because it makes so much sense! You're going to be kicking yourselves and thinking 'why didn't I realize that???' unless… you've already pieced it together… in which… I will… applaud you! And possibly hand out cookies. **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Agh! I can't find my knee socks, where're my bloody knee socks?" Sierra asked running frantically around the girl's dorm trying to find them. 

"I think you flung them over there… somewhere," Lily said calmly buttoning her robes up. 

It was another hectic Tuesday morning, in which Sierra was in distress because she couldn't find anything and none of the other girls feeling like getting up. 

"Great! Found them!" Sierra waved them triumphantly up in the air, tugging them on. 

Lily slid her feet into her Mary Jane's and grabbed her robe from off the hook of her dresser, which had been freshly washed and pressed. 

"Now I can't find my brush! I _hate _Tuesdays!" Sierra burst out savagely. 

"Take it easy, you can borrow mine," Lily said and Sierra followed her, trying to put her hair up. 

They entered the bustling bathroom with girls standing very close to the mirror trying to properly put on eyeliner or lip liner. Lily tossed her toiletries bag onto the marble counter and dug around until she produced her hairbrush, handing it to Sierra. 

"Thanks Lil, you're a lifesaver!" Sierra said gratefully, raking it through her raven-black hair. 

"Welcome," Lily said smiling. She was in unusually good spirits after last night and so far she hadn't told a soul about where she'd been, despite the fact they _all _asked where she was. 

Lily pulled up one of the stools that was sitting under the counter and leaned her elbows against the cool marble. She fluffed out her hair and then ran her brush through its auburn waves. As a characteristic all girls have, she flicked back her hair behind her shoulders and held it in a ponytail, examining herself. Puzzled, she noticed a large reddish blotch on the base of her neck. She leaned forward and then let out an audible, horrified gasp: James had given her a hickey! 

Mortified beyond belief (not to mention a tiny bit of thrilled), she flattened her hair against her neck trying to hide it. 

"Lily? You all right?" Sierra asked. 

"I'm fine!" Lily squeaked, "Just have a nasty rash!" 

"Oh," Sierra said with a look of small look of disbelief on her face. 

"Really, I'm fine, I like my hair down anyway!" Lily said quickly trying to push Sierra out of the bathroom so she could properly hide James' little present. 

"Lily what the –" Sierra started but the door was promptly slammed in her face. 

"Be out in a minute!" Lily called through the door, locking it just to be sure. The girls in the bathroom eyed her in the mirror with their eyebrows raised, muttering to each other. Lily smiled apologetically, her cheeks flaming brilliantly, and sauntered over back to where her stool was. Sitting down, she pulled her foundation out and started dabbing at the spot on her neck. 

_Oooh my goodness Lily, what've you gotten yourself into? _She chided herself, hoping no one saw the hickey. Once it was well hidden, she tossed her foundation back into her bag and ran back up to the girl's dorm. 

Everyone was already happily eating breakfast and chattering away. She veered towards Gryffindor table, trying to act as though everything were _perfectly _all right. Yes, she could pull this off! She was going to get through the day without ever letting anyone know about her midnight rendezvous with James _or _the little marking he'd made. 

"Lily! Lily, I've got a seat that's got you're name on it!" Sirius said calling in a cheery voice, patting the chair next to him. 

Lily graciously slid into it, not taking hint of his over-cheeriness. 

"Morning James," Lily said politely. 

He barely looked up from his breakfast, but gave her a slight nod. 

"Where's Peter?" Lily asked trying to strike up a conversation. 

"Sitting with his new _girlfriend_," Sirius sneered uncharacteristically, "suddenly his buddies aren't good enough for him!" 

"Sirius, that's a perfectly awful thing to say: you're the exact same way with women!" Remus chided him chucking a piece of his bagel at Sirius. Sirius examined it closely, found it to be still edible and popped it in his mouth. 

"I am not! I would _never _abandon you guys for a _girl_! What kind of a mate would I be?" Sirius asked. Everyone looked hesitantly around the room, whistling softly. 

"That's not fair! James abandoned his mates last night when he was _supposed _to help Peter for the Divination test coming up so he could go up for a snog!" Sirius declared. 

Lily's eyes widened in alarm and mistrust. "James –" 

James looked up, trying to look nonchalant but looking at Lily's expression he blushed deep red. 

"How do _you _know that?" Remus asked skeptically. 

"You fell asleep, you great lug, but James came back a good hour later after he left – muttered something about 'best snog ever' or something," Sirius said trying to recall details, which Lily wished he couldn't. 

"Yeah – umm me and Veronica got back together?" James said helplessly. 

"No you didn't, you stupid prat!" Sirius said laughing jovially not even noticing what was about to come out of his mouth next, "Before you went to bed I said 'goodnight James' and you said in plain English '_goodnight LILY_.'" 

Remus dropped his fork. "WHAT!"

Lily covered her face with her hands, hoping this was all a horrible dream. She'd be waking up any minute now… 

She took her hands away from her eyes and found James, Sirius, Remus and the _entire breakfast hall _to be staring at here. She groaned and felt like she was going to be sick. 

"Whoa… wait… James ditched Peter to be with … _LILY_?" Remus asked in an amazed voice. 

"Oh my God, you're not serious," Sirius asked also in disbelief, "you mean…" 

"No! What're you talking about? Potter could've been with anyone!" Lily said, "It's all rubbish!" 

"But Lily was gone from her bed last night too!" Arabella said from a little way down from them. 

_Thanks a _lot _Bella, _Lily thought savagely. Lily should've thought of what she could say if her friends were actually smart enough to piece it together: her reputation was going to be _ruined_. Absolutely blasted to smithereens. People would go around saying 'Oh there's that Lily Evans, so sad, she used to be the only one who couldn't stand James Potter and now she's just like the rest of us…' 

"Pure coincidence," James said dismissing the thought, speaking for the first time. "Why would I be up there with Lily?" 

"_You _tell _us_, James," Sirius said crossing his arms over his chest. 

"I – wasn't up there with Lily," James said. He winced: he'd never lied to Sirius before. 

"It sounds pretty phony to me," Remus admitted, "but you know it's perfectly all right to admit that you _were _up there with Lily… although I have a feeling either me or Sirius would faint." 

"I WASN'T UP THERE WITH EVANS!" 

"Who then, were you up there with?" Sirius shouted. The Hall, which was still filled with the sound of talking, went eerily silent. Even the teachers looked interested in this teenage soap opera. 

James looked like he'd been slapped across the face. Sirius rarely ever raised his voice, to _anyone_. 

"I'm not having this discussion," James said angrily, getting up, "not with you, not with Remus, not with _anyone_." 

"You're going to tell me and everyone else in this bloody room who's listening WHO YOU WERE WITH LAST NIGHT or I'll deck you so hard it'll make your head spin!" Sirius threatened jumping up. 

Lily gasped. Sirius was going to deck James? 

"STOP IT!" Lily shrilled. 

"Lily, stay out of this!" James shouted angrily, "I don't need you to defend me!" 

"Who says I'm defending _you_? I'm here to defend my reputation!" Lily said with a cold laugh. 

"Lily –" Sierra asked in wonderment. 

"I never _imagined _that I'd be in this situation," Lily said ashamed, "that I'd be confessing to an entire student body the workings of my personal life." 

"You mean that it's _true_?" Professor McGonagall piped up, and if Lily hadn't mistaken the look on her face, it looked as though she were impressed. 

Lily sighed, trembling from head to toe. "It all actually started before Misty's death… a little before anyway. During the holiday break, me and James sort of – agreed to be civil –" 

"I knew that something happened while I was away!" Sirius shouted triumphantly. 

"And then we found out Misty was dead… and he showed me a whole new side to the rotten brat I thought he was: compassion." 

James looked a bit prouder at this statement. 

"Then we sort of decided to start seeing each other, of course in secret, in fear of something like _this _happening and one thing led to another – and I guess we wound up in the Astronomy Tower last night," Lily said ending her speech. 

She bit her lip and looked over at the teacher's table. Professor McGonagall looked like she was going to cry, as well as Professor Hughes. 

"Never – ever – in all of my years of teaching – " Professor McGonagall said shaking her head. 

"WASTED!" Professor Hughes finished for her and Lily didn't know whether he looked pleased or utterly defeated. 

"We lied to all of you, I'm so sorry," Lily said hanging her head. Feeling like a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she sat down. 

They all looked expectantly at James. James shrugged. "I think Lily's spoken for the both of us." 

"Why James? Why didn't you tell us?" Remus asked. 

"Because – " 

"Because he's afraid that he's going to fall in love with someone as wonderful as Lily," Sirius put in darkly. 

"Bloody hell, why's everyone assume I'm afraid to fall in love? God, I feel so stereotyped!" James exclaimed hotly. 

"That's because you're the facsimile of a stereotype James," Arabella said rolling her eyes as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

"I am not – " 

"You're the most wanted guy at Hogwarts, you're on the Quidditch team, the most _gorgeous _girl in Hogwarts history _hates _you (Lily blushed even more at this), and you get top marks in everything. How is that_ not _being stereotyped?" Remus asked. 

"It's so typical," Sirius shook his head. 

James looked indignant. "Well fine, if that's what you think then I guess I'll go – and not be… stereotypical!" 

Thus saying that rather idiotic statement, James walked out of the hall. 

"JAMES WAIT UP!" Lily shouted and ran after him, knowing how utterly obsessive she must've looked. 

She found him walking randomly into a deserted classroom. "That was awful." 

"It was worse than awful; he sold me out," James said bitterly. 

"He sold you out? James, they found out and we deserved it: we never even _told _them about it and they're our best friends," Lily said trying to be reasonable. 

"It doesn't matter! And what was that about me afraid to fall in love? What do you call our relationship? Platonic hate?" 

"Come on James, the whole _world _knows you're afraid of commitment! Even _you _know that," Lily said. 

"Don't you think that a person can change?" James asked sharply. 

Lily looked taken aback. "Well, obviously some people never do." 

James sighed, frustrated. "It's just a new feeling ok? I've always run away from relationships because if I commit I know it'll be for real and the thought of feeling so strongly for one person that you'd spend the rest of your life with them scares me half to death." 

Lily smiled knowingly. 

"But if I can promise one thing to you Lily, I will _never _run away from you," James said seriously. 

"You can't break promises," Lily said looking at him warily. 

"I'd swear my life on this promise," James said honestly. 

"Don't swear your life. I'm probably some girl you just haven't been able to get out of your system yet," Lily said sadly. 

"Lily, come on – don't say that," James said in a hurt voice. 

"James, I can't see you anymore… I just can't. It's wrong and – and just not meant to be," Lily said with tears threatening to choke her, "I'm sorry." 

She walked out of the empty classroom and left James with his heart shattered. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 


	30. Maybe Tomorrow

_A/n; _**Uh oh it's the big 3-0! Woo! This chapter is just a random songfic I decided to write because this song really describes what Lily's going through… I think. It's 'Tomorrow' by Avril Lavigne so you might want to listen to it while you read or whatever =) **

**To Sorrow Personified: I'm _so _sorry you thought I meant I was finishing the story in two chapters or more! Trust me, it'll take much longer than two chapters to finish it =) **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

It looked like rain as clouds brewed overhead on the Quidditch field. Jonathan Quigley, as James had predicted, had become captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Not that James resented him too much for that position; he'd get it soon enough. 

"Heard about you and Lily Evans," Jonathan said. James shrugged; Jonathan was one of those people who were so horridly preppy that it was almost unbearable to be around him. 

"No big," James said. 

"She's cute," Jonathan mused aloud. 

James swung his leg over his broom, not commenting and kicking off. Jonathan quickly followed in pursuit. 

_He must want something_, James thought, annoyed. 

"It was _quite _an episode this morning. The Professors were all talking about it on their break," Jonathan continued as James tried to warm up his numb body. 

"Yes, well, I've got a prat for a friend so what're you going to do?" James said jokingly.

"Sirius Black?" Jonathan asked, the way you might answer a trivia question. 

"Yeah, him," James answered. 

"He's quite a character as well! Are you and those other two boys some sort of band of friends?" 

James wished to God he'd stop talking. Perhaps he could succeed in shoving him off his broom – or at least mortally wounding him. All he ever did was poke into James' personal affairs and did it ever piss him off. And James wished Jonathan would stop saying 'quite'; it made him sound like a pansy. 

"No, we participate in what's called peaceful coexistence," James said sarcastically, hoping his four-syllable word (coexistence) would confuse him. 

"Haha, that's very funny! You're very funny, Potter," Jonathan said with an annoying laugh. 

_Hahaha… do you even know what I just said?_ James thought to himself. 

"So does this mean that you and Lily are dating?" Jonathan asked. 

_Nosy little shit, _James thought derisively. 

"I don't know what it means," James lied. He'd pretended ever since that morning that he was absolutely fine with the fact Lily couldn't like him because her reputation was at stake and it was 'morally wrong' despite the fact that he was dying inside. 

"I think you two are cute together," Jonathan said, saying 'cute' for the second time in their conversation. James wondered if Jonathan was on drugs. 

"Thank you," James said curtly and sped off towards the other end of the field before he could reply. 

Sudden rain burst from the shadowy clouds in big, fat droplets. Within minutes, the entire team (who'd gathered for a rather cold Tuesday practice) was soaked down to the bone. Shivering and numb, James tried to concentrate on his playing skills instead of the fact that he couldn't feel his legs. 

"Come on Levey, throw the Quaffle in the hoop! Good! Now, Potter, your turn!" Jonathan had them running drills where the first person would start at the opposite end of the field and then pass it to the second person and then the third person would throw it into the hoop. James flew to the other end of the field and went full speed towards Stacey Levey, the other 4th year Chaser. Stacey flew over to the 5th year Chaser, Trevor Cullman and he tossed it into the hoop with a flourish. 

"Good! You guys rest up, I've just got to drill the Seeker and then we'll call it a night; too cold to play!" Jonathan said. 

_Wuss,_ James thought tartly. 

Back at the castle, Lily had in hand a quill and parchment all ready to start her Care of Magical Creatures Essay (How The Invention of the Muggle Leash has Helped Wizards Keep Pets Under Control.) She had changed out of her Hogwarts attire and into her favorite pair of plain black sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She'd told herself for the past half hour that she'd start her essay, but her quill was busy collecting dust at her feet while she thought to herself. 

And I wanna believe you 

_When you tell me that it will be ok _

_Yeah I try to believe you_

_But I don't _

She didn't mean to sound so superficial - when she talked to James, that is - but she always ended up sounding like the girls back in the Muggle world. Lily was _still _kicking herself over what she'd said that morning: what an _idiot_. Ok, so she'd had a crush before but it _never _lasted this long or felt so – oh heck, felt so _right_! She didn't even know what she was talking about: barely fourteen and talking about being in love. It was bloody ridiculous but at the same time she felt that nagging feeling in the back of her mind telling her that maybe this was it: maybe James was it. 

When you say that it's gonna be 

_It always turns out to be a different way _

_I try to believe you _

_Not today… _

How many times had she told herself that it would be all right? For her to just accept James, despite the fact she thought him an utter prick. It was all based on pride, her pride. James was ready to just freely admit that he loved her and that he didn't give a damn what anyone thought. But it was different for Lily… she couldn't just toss caution to the wind, she didn't want to end up like every other girl he'd dated – just another flavor of the week. Especially when she was so sure this was what she wanted… 

_I don't know how I feel _

_Tomorrow, tomorrow_

_I don't know what to say _

_Tomorrow, tomorrow is a different day  _

He'd just have to wait. That was it: she'd call the shots and if he wasn't ready to accept that, then he should just go and date one of his fangirls. 

It's always been up to you 

_It's turning around, it's up to me_

_I'm gonna do what I have to do _

_Just don't… _

_Give me a little time _

_Leave me alone a little while _

_Maybe it's not too late_

_Not today… _

God, this was confusing. All she'd wanted out of life was to get by, no hassle, no pain, and no stress. She'd grown tired of thinking about it, but all she wanted to do was let go of her old life, her own world – the Muggle one. There was so much bitterness between her family, she'd just give it all up to know she'd been given a second chance by getting that letter accepting her to Hogwarts. Hogwarts was her godsend, her miracle. She'd never dream she'd get this far: friends, a good goal (she wanted to become an Auror) and James. Lily always thought James was a blessing in disguise: he kept her on her toes and she liked it that way. 

I don't know how I feel 

_Tomorrow, tomorrow_

_I don't know what to say_

_Tomorrow, tomorrow is a different day_

She shrugged, picking up her quill. She tried to put James in the back of her mind…

And I want to believe you 

_When you tell me that it'll be ok_

_Yeah I try to believe you _

_Not today… _

_Tomorrow it may change…_

_Tomorrow it may change… _

_Tomorrow it may change… _

_Tomorrow it may change… _

Lily smiled. It didn't work pushing him in the back of her mind because he'd always resurface. She'd be ready to talk it out… but not today, maybe tomorrow… 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

A/N: Short irrelevant chapter. Just what we needed before we get all complicated again. And I simply love Avril Lavigne and I'll probably use another one of her songs… yes, there'll be some more songfics later on! Thanks, R/R! 


	31. Snowball Fight!

_A/n; _**This part of the story is still in it's rough draft, meaning I'm kind of making this up as I go along… but I swear to God, I've got a 4-page plot thing that I've written! It's just… getting to where I need to be is my biggest problem. But anyway, happy reading!**

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"I still cannot believe you didn't tell us," Sirius said blankly for the third time that night. Stretched out on his four-poster, he was trying to break his own record of eating the most disgusting Bertie Botts flavors. His previous comment was of course referring to the somewhat searing kissing session James and Lily had conducted while they were away. James had finally been broken down enough to tell them the truth, even though he'd denied it that morning at breakfast, considering the fact he didn't believe there'd be anything else going on between them for a long time. 

"Yeah James, I thought we could trust you!" Remus scolded him. 

"Well I was going to –" 

"No you weren't! I know you," Sirius said in a matter-of-fact voice, "and you would've been too proud to admit you fell in love with the one girl in this school who didn't love you back!" 

"That's low, Sirius," James said quietly, but at the same time he knew that he was right. 

"It's the damned truth!" Remus said. 

"But I knew it! I _knew it_!" Sirius whooped triumphantly. 

"No you didn't!" James exclaimed, embarrassed. 

Sirius propped himself up on his elbows, digging around in the semi-darkness trying to find a vomit-flavored bean. "I knew it _all bloody along_." 

"How?" James asked with a smirk. 

"Because you always blushed around her when we were littler and I remember that whenever you caught her looking at another boy she liked, you'd always get this weird look on your face," Sirius said in a 'haha I told you so' voice. 

"Sirius, James does that all the time," Remus said annoyed, flicking off pieces of parchment off his bed from his homework. 

"Yeah, but – " 

"But maybe he just had to get Lily out of his system. Maybe she was just a _glitch _in his system and she just took a bit longer to get out of," Remus said in a smart-alecky voice. 

"Remus, I could hug you!" James crowed happily. 

"Please – I'd rather you stay there," Remus said looking nauseated. 

"No but honestly, that's exactly what I feel! I mean, I've got a major reputation to uphold – and I know this sounds awful, but what would people think of me if I stopped constantly dating?" 

"They just might think you've become something more than an arrogant guy who uses women like tissues," Sirius said agitated and closed his curtains crisply. 

Remus and James sat in awed silence for a few moments. 

"What's with him?" James asked exhaling a loud breath. 

"You really are impossible!" Remus said incredulously. 

"What're you talking about?" James asked irked. 

"You just don't get it! I mean, sure you've gotten the concept everyone loves you and you're the hottie on campus, but God, you can't see past that to see that you're completely and utterly hopeless one-hundred percent in fucking _love _with Lily!" Remus ended with a shout, letting all his bottled up emotions out. 

James looked at him, stunned. "Remus -?" 

"You know I'm right – and Sirius – well, in case you haven't noticed, is about at the end of his tether with you because of this whole Lily thing. Lily's just about the most beautiful, _perfect _woman for you and he knows it, I know it and everyone knows it but it's your _pride _that's keeping you from doing anything about it," Remus concluded, finishing his speech. 

"That's not true!" James exclaimed. 

"_Goodnight James_," Remus said with a sigh and James saw him close his curtains as well in the same manner as Sirius had. 

Sighing in an anguished sort of way, he flung himself back onto the soft goose feather pillows. Maybe this relationship could work yet, and maybe it would. If all of those things Remus and Sirius weren't issues, he and Lily would already be mapping out their wedding. 

_Ok, maybe not a _wedding, James thought quickly, catching himself. 

"You know, since I can tell you're contemplating this, why don't you go and make amends with Lily? The poor girl is probably so confused by whether or not you like her, her head's spinning," Remus said. 

"Remus, it's nearly eleven o'clock," James said blandly. 

"Well, you could always do something unexpectedly romantic like fly your broom near her window and knock on it so she comes out," Remus suggested. 

"You've been reading Arabella's romance novels, haven't you?" James asked. 

Remus didn't answer with anything but the sound of him turning over. James sighed and his gaze shifted over to a spare quill he had on his nightstand. Struck with a curious inspiration, he grabbed it and scrambled out of bed to find his wand. It had been stuffed into his robes pocket and he dug it out among the notes that girls had sent him that day. He shook out his robes pocket just for good measure, the notes falling to the floor unnoticed like giant snowflakes. 

"Remus, do you know any good transfiguration spells?" James asked. 

"Bloody hell James, it's nearly eleven! Of course I don't know any spells; classes don't start for a couple of hours!" Came Remus' agitated reply. 

"So sorry," James said acidly. He muttered a spell he hoped would work and with a faint _pop_ a beautiful red rose took the place of his quill. 

"Where're you going?" Remus called sleepily as James opened the door, pulling on a Chudley Cannons sweatshirt as he went. 

"Off to make amends with dear Lily," James said cheerfully. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Lily, Sierra and Arabella were still up late that night. They were all giggling about all the boys who'd been giving Lily weird looks ever since the whole school found out about her and James.  

"I'm swearing off boys for the rest of the year; too much trouble on my behalf," Arabella said. 

"Oh definitely!" Lily said with a fervent nod. 

"Oh Lily, don't! You should've _seen _yourself this morning, running after James and whatnot," Sierra said, positively gushing. 

"Ugh. I'd rather not be running after Potter," Lily said rolling her eyes. 

"So we're back to last name basis?" Sierra asked skeptically. 

"Back to square one," Arabella agreed wearily. 

"I just don't see how so many girls can rebound after being dumped like someone like James," Sierra said puzzled, "he's the epitome of all boyfriends." 

"No, that's what he wants you to think," Lily said sourly. 

"Hush Lily, you had a – most _enjoyable _time with James over the holidays," Arabella said. 

"Well I'll think better next time," Lily said with color rising in her cheeks. 

"Oh crap, I hear someone coming up the stairs," Arabella said with a panicked voice. They immediately ran to their own beds and Lily flipped off the light, lying immobile in her bed. 

She kept one eye open but couldn't see the dark figure creeping standing somewhat awkwardly around the room. Fear gripped her but kept her face a calm mask of coolness as it bent over her bed. 

"Lily?" The figure asked. Lily had to force herself to keep her eyelids shut because she knew it was James. 

He knelt down by the side of her bed, leaning his face close to hers. She could smell his minty breath and that same intoxicating cologne, smells that were so familiar to her. She felt his hands pull up her sheets, accidentally brushing them against her bared leg. Lily faked being slightly disturbed in her 'dream' by furrowing her brow and moving slightly, hoping he didn't notice the brilliant flush creeping into her cheeks. 

_Holy shit James, hurry up and do whatever you've got to do because I'm going to explode_, Lily thought hurriedly. 

Kissing her bare shoulder (she had nothing on but a simple black tank top and gray pants) he felt how warm she was. And it wasn't from the room, for the room was rather brisk. Lily's eyes slowly opened and noted his warm lips moving from her shoulder to the curve back up to her neck, all the way placing small kisses. Fire shot through her like an unbelievable heat and she was about to 'wake up' but then he placed a soft kiss on her lips and she once more remained still. She so desperately wanted to kiss him back, to pull him down by his shirt collar and kiss him until morning but let him pull away… and then he was gone. 

Exhaling a loud, pent-up sigh she threw off her covers. She brought her hand up to touch her lips, and could still feel his warm caress of his lips on hers. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

  
Waking several hours prior to breakfast, Lily slowly roused herself. She rolled over and nearly crushed the rose James had dropped hastily at her side. Feeling something prickly under the sheets, she turned back over and looked at the perfect (though the stem was slightly bent) rose. 

_What a gentleman_, Lily thought fondly as she picked it up. She ran her finger along down the flower, accidentally pricking it on a thorn. 

"OW!" She exclaimed loudly, dropping the rose. Oddly enough, James' words he'd said to her in the beginning of the year drifted back to her… 

_And you're a petite flower with the sharpest thorns I've ever seen_… 

She looked at the rose with newfound understanding: this was what James thought of her. The rose was perfect, not a flaw on it, except those sharp thorns that snagged anything in its way. 

"Lily, what's wrong?" 

"Nothing Sierra, go back to bed," Lily said climbing out of bed. She paused to look out the window and noted grudgingly that it was still snowing. Lily loved the snow but this was _enough_; soon it'd get up to their chests as they walked to outdoor classes, as it was difficult enough to shake out the snow of your boots as you were walking knee-deep in snow.  

"Hey snow! You guys, we should go out and have a snowball fight!" Lily said loudly to the sleeping dorm. 

"Lily, it's –"

"Oh, I know it's awfully early but if we get out while it's still cold the snow will still be powdery!" Lily said perfectly chipper, trying to think of a way to avoid James for the day. 

"No, we mean it's bloody Saturday, let us sleep!" Arabella said, throwing a pillow at Lily. 

Lily grinned, pulling the curtains open further, letting more sunlight flood the room. There was a large, brown owl hovering near the window and Lily screamed so loud that she scared all of her roommates. 

"What is it?" Sabrina muttered, annoyed at being roused out of her sleep. 

Lily clutched at her chest, breathing heavily and laughing. "Its just an owl, guys." She opened the window and let the great owl in. 

"He's got a letter or something," Lily said. This peaked all the girls' interests. 

"See who it's to," Sierra said, getting out of bed to come look at it. 

Lily untied the letter from the owl's leg. It said simply and in green letters _'Lily_._'_

"Ooh Lily, I'll bet it's from James!" Arabella said smiling. 

Lily rolled her eyes, returning nonetheless the same giggly grin. She unrolled the parchment and turned her back to the girls, despite their protests. 

Lily ~ 

_   I couldn't stop thinking about you last night, Lils. I really couldn't. Sirius and Remus are mad at me because I didn't tell them beforehand about – you know. I just want you to know that I'm really sorry for whatever I've done, but please don't be mad at me. Can you just give me a chance? At least before Jonathan Quigley can get to you, because he seems to have your best interests at heart… sorry, it's my jealous emotions coming back. I'll – see you at breakfast? _

_James_

Lily quickly folded it, and threw it under her mattress. 

"What'd it say?" Arabella asked. 

"Nothing," Lily said shortly, grabbing her clothes, "but I'm going to go challenge a certain bunch of boys to go play in the snow!" 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"OUCH SIRIUS! NOT IN THE FACE, NOT IN THE FACE!" Remus yelled as Sirius, who was on his team, threw a large snowball at him. 

Lily laughed, chucking a snowball at Peter and missed, hitting James in the leg. James grinned and aimed one back at Lily. Shrieking, she ran behind the makeshift fort she, Arabella, Sabrina and Sierra had built.   
  


"We're winning!" Sirius crowed, kicking around some snow. 

"I don't think there's a way you can win, sorry!" Arabella yelled back and hitting Remus in the back. 

"Castle surge!" Sirius yelled and all four boys ran towards them. The girls went around shrieking and laughing as they pelted them with snow. Their cheeks were red from the cold and excitement and none of them could feel their fingers, but they were having too much fun to care. 

Lily collapsed on the ground; knees weak from laughter. It was the perfect day for a snowball fight: not a cloud in the sky, yet the snow seemed to be enchanted and didn't melt. There were students running all over the place, some were ice-skating, others were making snowmen. Even Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore were outside. 

All morning, Lily had tried to not say anything to James and it seemed evident he'd been doing the same thing. She hated it; she didn't even know why he was mad at her! 

Sirius conjured up a Muggle sled and cocked his head towards the tall slope of the castle grounds. "Who's up for a little Muggle sledding?" 

"Oh, God!" Lily shouted laughing. 

Sirius grinned. "Lily, you're the expert here!" 

"No thank you!" Lily said, grinning back at him. 

Sirius shrugged and he and Sierra went up the slope, getting ready to go down. All of them gathered at the bottom to watch them. Sierra looked a bit nervous but Sirius gave them both a huge push and they sped off down the hill. They started to careen a bit to the side and were picking up speed towards the friends. Alarmed, the group scattered out but Lily's shoe was stuck in some mud made from the dirt that must have been there. James, seemingly _always _there when Lily was in trouble, made a dive for her as Sirius and Sierra whizzed past them. He wrapped his arms around her waist, knocking her to the ground just in the nick of time. Lily landed in the snow with a muffled 'thump' and James, tripping over his feet, landed rather hard on top of her. 

"Ugh! If you want to get my attention, you don't need to practically rape me!" Lily said annoyed. 

"You nearly got hit!" James hissed in defense. Lily groaned, trying to get up but James' overpowering weight kept her landed. 

"The least you could do was remove your arms from around me, your knuckles are currently disabling me!" Lily said. 

"Done," James said unwinding his arms. 

"People are going to think we're – you know –" Lily said breaking off uncomfortably. 

"And – you're bothered by that how?" James asked winking. 

Lily swatted him on the shoulder, blushing like crazy. "I happen to be _very _bothered by that!" 

"Sure you are," James said. 

"I swear, James –" Lily said looking panicked, pressing her hands against his chest, "get off me before I scream." 

"Ok, ok! Geez, the thanks I get for saving your life," James said defensively. 

Lily brushed herself off nonchalantly. "And nearly molesting me!" 

"That's _ridiculous,_" James scoffed. 

"It's _true_!" Lily said, "God, when you're not chasing girls you're chasing _me_!" 

"That's because I'm in love with you!" James yelled at her. And suddenly… everything was quiet. 

"You – don't love me," Lily said and to her horror, she felt tears running down her face, "you do _not _love me, James Potter! You're a stupid, insignificant squashed _bug _on my shoe that doesn't know _what _he prizes most in life! But I can assure, you do _not _love me: I'm just some trophy prize!" 

James' mouth dropped open. "You are not!" 

"Don't hand me it, Potter! You know it's true: the only reason you chased after me was because I didn't like you from the start!" Lily said even louder. 

"God, stop saying that! I know this sounds fake, but I chased after you because you were the only person worth it!" James said. 

"Liar," Lily spat and turned on her heel, ready to go back to the castle. 

"No Lily, you're not going to walk away from me," James said whirling her around and kissing her fiercely. Completely taken by surprise, she tried to push him away but he held fast to her arms. This kiss was unlike any they'd ever shared: it wasn't tender, it wasn't mushy – it was all complete, raw emotion. This side was a side to James she didn't think she'd ever seen, passionate and domineering. She whimpered against his lips in a protest against what he was doing to her, resting her hands on his shoulders and trying to will herself to push him away. 

Finally summoning up the willpower, she bit him hard on the lip and he cursed, pulling away. 

"What the _hell_?" Lily asked breathing heavily.  

"Sorry – I don't know what came over me," James said slightly dizzy. 

"You are the biggest _jerk _I have ever met! I wish you'd just fucking die!" Lily said, slapping him as hard as she could across the face. 

Catcalls and hoots could be heard from students as Lily walked away, completely fuming with anger. James just stood there and tried to tell himself not to cry on the spot. 

Sierra and Sirius, giggling like mad, came over from their sledding escapade and saw James' crestfallen face. 

"What happened?" Sierra asked, taking a hint from James' face. 

"She – she…" James said and could feel tears welling up. He sniffled loudly, wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeve. 

"Oh, goodness," Sierra said sympathetically. 

"You'd better go talk to her, Sierra," Sirius advised her. Sierra nodded, giving Sirius a quick peck on the cheek before starting off towards the castle. 

"James, buddy, what happened?" Sirius asked clapping James a bit roughly on the back. 

James sat down heavily in the snow. "She accused me of not loving her and she was just some prize I wanted to get." 

"Isn't that what she is?" Sirius asked blatantly. 

"No!" James said angrily, "She's so much more than that!" 

"Christ, James, you sure have an odd way of showing it!" Sirius cried exasperatedly. "All you do is flirt with girls and pretend like Lily's no one special but she means _everything _to you. It doesn't make any sense!" 

James sighed heavily, running his hands through his hair. "It's not my fault; it's my nature. I mean, I love Lily and everything – she can't expect me to settle down with her, though! If she wants a guy who's going to be committed, she shouldn't go for me because I'm just not ready!" 

"Right then. I'll go spread the word," Sirius said bitterly and walked off as well, leaving James all by himself in the snow. 

How was it, that every time James thought everything was going right, it blew up in his face? 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**A/N: And… that's where it ends. Not the worst cliffhanger ever but… meh. I'm working on it. I've got to move this story along, it's getting a bit tiring so I'll quickly finish up the fourth year and then it's – 5th year! HOORAH! Tootles for now, IceAmethyst.**


	32. Plans for the Summer

_A/n; _**WOOHOO! TWO HUNDRED REVIEWS! *tosses confetti around* Oh my God, this is so darn cool! I want to thank every single person who's ever read this and reviewed it, every review counts and… it's just made my day. Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart for all of your support. **

**Thanks especially to Mary, my bestest friend in science besides Cate and Kerri, who gave me my 200th review! =)**

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

It was an unusual stuffy, hot June night in the castle on Lily's last night in Hogwarts before summer vacation. She was busy packing up with Sierra, Arabella and Sabrina. 

"So you will write over the summer?" Sierra asked worriedly. "I haven't heard anything from Jaden since – well, Misty's death." 

"He wasn't what we'd call 'socially elite' either," Arabella said sarcastically. 

"You haven't heard from him yet? I expected he ran away or something after the Death Eater attack in December, but gods, you should've heard from him by now! Why didn't you tell us?" Lily asked in a concerned voice. 

"I – I didn't think he'd never write to me again," Sierra said her eyes brimming with tears, "and – now I don't know what to do! Oh, my brother is out there somewhere in the world, unsheltered – unprotected!" 

"Oh, Sierra," Arabella said with a sympathetic look on her face as Sierra dissolved into tears over her brother. Lily felt a pang of compassion for her as well – Jaden was a bit eccentric and a tad on the scary side but he was her only family. Arabella and Sabrina ran over to comfort Sierra but Lily hung back. 

"I'm going downstairs to see if I've picked up all of my books and maps and everything, all right? Sia, are you going to be ok?" she asked a little uncomfortably. 

Sierra nodded, her eyes puffy. "Can you check for me too?" 

"Sure," Lily said flashing her friend a comforting smile before she bounded down the stairs. 

There was almost no one in the Common Room; save James and his posse, as usual. 

"Sirius, shut up someone's – oh wait, its just Lily," James said, coolly regarding her presence. Things had iced over them and things were back to the way they'd been before the whole 'Lily and James' thing started. 

"Hi James," Lily said just as coolly, lifting up one of the couch's pillows to see if there were any odd and ends around that belonged to the girls. 

"Nice to see you around," he replied rolling up a piece of parchment. 

"Lily! Seems like we never see you anymore!" Sirius exclaimed and Lily was glad she and Sirius never stopped being friends because of her and James. 

"Where's Remus?" 

"Not… here?" James said glancing in an obvious way at the empty space surrounding them. 

"Oh," Lily said, not being able to think of anything else to say. 

"So – what're you doing this summer?" Sirius asked rocking back and forth on the balls of his toes. 

"Nothing of interest, going to spend it with my parents," Lily said morosely, trying to suppress a grimace. 

"That's awful," Sirius said although James made no moves to sympathize with her, "would you like to come and spend some of the summer with us?" 

James' jaw dropped in indignation. "SIRIUS!" 

"I wouldn't want to _burden _you with my presence seeing how James has so _openly_ protested," Lily spat, going off like a short-lit fuse. 

"No, no it's fine! James is just being a prick – he'll love having you tag along," Sirius insisted. 

"Sirius! I can't believe what a jerk you are! I don't want Evans around for the summer!" James whined. 

"Stop whining you big baby," Sirius snapped. 

"So you mean I'm going to go to the infamous Black residence this summer?" Lily asked with an air of fake awe and admiration in her voice. 

"Actually, we'd be going to the infamous Black beach house in Wizard's Cove." 

"Pardon my asking, but what the hell's Wizard's Cove?" 

"A very exclusive stretch of beach no Muggles no about, hence the name 'Wizards' Cove. Jamesie and I nearly grew up there every summer – that was where we first met. Their house was right next to ours," Sirius said punching James in the arm in a rather weak show of brotherly affection. 

"It sounds wonderful! Who else is going?" Lily asked, sitting down on the couch with all it's cushions pulled up and things from sweaters to glasses being sat on. 

"Oh, well I haven't invited –" 

"It'd probably just be you plus Remus, Sirius and I," James said shortly. 

"Oh," Lily said.

"Nonsense! Lily won't want to hang around with the Maur – I mean, us!" Sirius said quickly. 

"You're right – maybe she shouldn't come at all!" James suggested brightly. 

"Oh grow up Jamesie, like I'd miss this!" Lily said slapping his arm rather hard. 

"I'll most definitely invite Sierra," Sirius said with a cheeky grin, "but I can also bring along Arabella and Sabrina." 

"THANK YOU!" Lily said jumping up and giving Sirius a giant hug, "I'm going to go upstairs _right now _and tell them!" 

James watched Lily run upstairs, beside herself with glee. "You realize how much I hate that girl, right?" he asked Sirius in a flat voice. 

Sirius shrugged. "Oh, I don't know Jamesie – all you have to do is get used to the red hair and fiery temper. You know we've been over this millions of times – she's not your average dumb blonde." 

"But I don't date dumb blondes!" James protested. 

"Yes you do," Sirius said with a smirk. 

"Well fine! Maybe I do but I can most definitely stand Little Miss Prim-and-Proper this summer or die trying," James said firmly. 

"But don't you have a girlfriend you could occupy yourself with so you wouldn't _have _to see Lily?" 

James gasped. "No actually, Si, I don't!" 

Sirius gasped audibly as well, pretending to have figured it out just then. "Well there's your answer – take some girl you've had your eye on and forget the redhead." 

"You know, I do have somewhat of a crush on that Ravenclaw – Fiona Blossom…" James mused carefully. 

"Ooh. The secret comes out," Sirius said rolling his eyes, "but didn't you date her already?" 

"Hard to keep them straight, Sirius my boy," James said winking. 

"Oh yes James, it is _so _hard." 

"I think I'll go pay a little visit to her tomorrow morning," James said grinning. 

"You do realize that you can't send her packing halfway through the summer because she's bugging you, right?" Sirius asked. 

"Of course Sirius!" James said although Sirius felt a horrible feeling in his gut that by at least three weeks, James would send Fiona packing. 

Or, maybe, James would surprise him…

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Not surprisingly enough, Fiona graciously accepted James' 'proposal' complete with that cute fangirl blush and lots of punctuating giggles. Lily was thoroughly disgusted by the whole state of affairs. 

"I give it three weeks," Arabella said reassuringly to Lily later that next night as they lounged around in their pajamas in the girls' dorm.

Lily looked at Arabella like she'd just been beamed down to Hogwarts. "Bella, I give it three _days_!" 

"I really am starting to think that we are the only four left at Hogwarts who actually keep their wits about them when James Potter graces their presence," Sabrina drawled. 

"With the exception of Lily," Sierra chimed in and all three of them laughed. Lily shot them a dirty look and picked up the Muggle book she'd started reading, ignoring them. 

"I'd prefer if we not talk about past flings I have had with that – hideous beastly creature," she said wrinkling her nose. 

"But it's so cute! And I'm betting you've still got feelings for him!" Sierra accused. 

"Yes, this whole 'I hate Potter' thing is just a façade!" Sabrina grinned. 

"It is not!" Lily exclaimed loudly, flustered. 

"Oh, come on Lily, denying it won't get you anywhere! Admittance is the first step, right?" Arabella said. She nearly broke out in laughter at the sight of Lily's face. 

"I – well – stop accusing me of that!" Lily said furiously, her face a bright red. 

All three of her roommates burst into giggles. 

"Oh Lily, you should really see your face – it's priceless!" Sierra gasped, trying to catch her breath.

"I don't appreciate it very much!" Lily scowled. 

"Oh really Lily its all in good fun," Sabrina said. She softened slightly at Lily's genuine hurt expression.

"All in good fun," Lily repeated sourly, flopping on her bed. "I'm going to bed. Lord knows I'm going to need my strength for tomorrow." 

The girls chorused goodnight to her but Lily didn't fall asleep. In fact, a certain messy-haired boy haunted her dreams and kept her from dreams for a very long time.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"Jamesie, I was wondering – do you think I should pack most of my bathing suits or buy one there?" Fiona asked the next morning. She settled herself happily in his lap, earning some raised eyebrows from Sirius and Remus. Porridge dripped sloppily from Remus' spoon as his hand was immobile halfway to his mouth. James just smirked back in their direction, placing his hands on her hips. 

"I think you should do whatever you want to do; if you want a new one, Jamesie will take care of it," James said, kissing her nose playfully. 

"Oh _God _Potter, no one wants a freaking floor show!" Lily said disgustedly, nearly throwing up her breakfast at the very public show of affection. 

"You're just jealous because you couldn't get this kind of attention from a guy, or even a girl, if you tried!" James shot back. He wasted no more time then in getting totally into kissing Fiona. 

"Oh, real mature," Lily sneered, rolling her eyes. Fiona looked immensely pleased with herself, getting into it as well. 

"And… here comes Jamesie Junior!" Sirius cried happily, egging them on. Professor McGonagall, unfortunately, heard this and her jaw nearly grazed the ground and marched over to the happy couple. 

"_MISTER POTTER! THAT _will be _QUITE _enough!" she cried indignantly. James slowly broke away from Fiona, her pink lip-gloss smeared all over his lips. 

He smiled sheepishly and what he hoped was a teacher-charming smile (hey, he could charm any girl at this school! How different was Professor McGonagall?) but the professor didn't look amused. 

"Back to your assigned table, Miss Blossom," McGonagall said sternly. Fiona blushed, unwound herself from James and gave a small wave as she slinked back to the Ravenclaw table. 

"It was an honest mistake, Professor!" James insisted. Sirius coughed, hoping James would notice the lip-gloss. James looked at Sirius and Sirius pantomimed a girl putting on lipstick. James quickly snatched a napkin, eyes wide with horror and wiped the sticky goo off his face. 

"She just happened to trip and you caught her on the lips, eh?" she pressed severely. 

James gulped. Sirius let out a snort that quickly became a coughing fit as McGonagall shot a warning look at him. 

"Hmm. Well, don't let it happen again, Potter. I won't stand for this very public show of affection; you're all a bunch of hormone-driven teenagers in my book. Keep it under wraps, will you?" 

"Yes m'am," James said saluting, his face bright red. 

"Oh, and just to make sure it doesn't happen again, 20 points from Gryffindor." She walked away swiftly, robes billowing. 

"Witchy. Lily could end up exactly like her some day: old, teaching and telling off kids for making out. What a life!" Sirius said incredulously. 

"I heard that! I will not end up an old crone!" Lily said offended. 

"With a face like that, you already are!" James told her. 

Lily smiled disarmingly and didn't say a word, turning back to her breakfast and conversations. 

"She's something else, I'll tell you," Sirius said with an amused smile. "You know, if you weren't so bloody in love with her I'd date her in a second." 

"You can have her," James said bitterly.

"Sorry mate, I don't steal another guy's um – mate." 

"Jonathan Quigley's in love with her; I swear to God," James said feeling a twinge of annoyance, "he's always talking about her." 

"Ha! See? You're already missing out! God James, imagine Lily going to somebody like _Jonathan Quigley_, Mr. Prep himself!" Remus exclaimed. 

"She'd never go out with him; he's not good enough for her," James said self-assuredly. 

Sirius and Remus exchanged knowing glances. 

"Well then James, who exactly _is _good enough for Lily?" Sirius asked lightly. 

"Somebody who is – well, like you Sirius: someone who really knows how to treat a lady like Lily," James said. 

Sirius looked doggedly at James. "You're just saying that to put us off."

James pretended to look shocked at this revelation. "So I am!" 

"Well _all _we're saying is that would you rather another perfectly good girl who only comes around once in a million years go to a guy like Jonathan Quigley or go to somebody like – well, you?" Remus said logically. 

"I'd rather her go to _Severus Snape _than me," James said loudly. 

"I give up!" Sirius said throwing his hands up in the air. 

"Face it Sirius: we can't convince James; he's been around the block a few times," Remus said, but all hope wasn't lost yet. They still had all summer and Wizard's Cove was noted for it's beautiful beaches and even more beautiful, romantic spots. But Lily didn't have to know that – not yet. 

"Well – I've got to get going, Divination first with Hufflepuffs," Sirius said brightly and went off with Sierra. 

Remus got up briskly as well, pushing his chair in. "Uh… well I've got to go check some things on the Quidditch season next year – I think Professor McGonagall wants me to be commentator next year." 

"Bye –" James said as Remus practically sprinted away. 

"Aw Potter's all alone! What, no entourage?" Lily asked scooting her chair right next to his. 

"Sod off Evans, I'm brooding. You're distracting me from being handsome," James said sourly, trying to swat her away. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry Your Highness! Please, let me kiss your shoes!" Lily said sarcastically. 

"What do you want with me now?" James asked, annoyed. 

"Nothing. I felt like coming over and annoying you." 

"Go hang out with your little groupies," James replied resentfully. 

"_My _little groupies? I could hand you over to the Hufflepuff girls and you'd come back five minutes later with no pants on and a ripped shirt and one shoe on!" 

"I'm sure you've fancied me with no pants on," James said slyly, knowing it would turn Lily off and disgust her.

"Oh, God Potter. Get over yourself!" Lily said disgustedly and turned red, true to James' prediction. 

"So you're not denying it?" James asked cheekily. 

_Damn! Stop blushing, Evans!_ Lily thought. Though the thought of James without pants really _was _disgusting, she couldn't prevent the color from creeping over her cheeks. 

"Look Potter, all I came over here to ask was what you thought about Amos Diggory," Lily said looking slightly flustered. 

James looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "What I thought about Amos Diggory? You came over to ask _me _what _my _opinion is on Amos Diggory?" 

Lily looked a little guilty. "Yeah. So, what's his deal?" 

"Well, he's my worst enemy and he's on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team." 

"POTTER!" Lily said frustrated. She slapped him on the arm. 

"All right, _fine_. He's single at the moment, the last girlfriend he had was Sonya Chang but she graduated last year. His record for longest period of time with a girl was four months, with Sonya and his reliability is – well –" 

"Better than yours," Lily interjected smoothly. 

"Thank you," James said, not missing a beat. 

"You're welcome."

"Is that all I need to know?" 

"Watch how he carries himself, I won't say anything that'll taint your perfect little schoolgirl crush on him but don't hold your breath; he likes fast women," James said, fibbing a tad. He couldn't understand why he wanted to antagonize Diggory, other than the fact that he hated him. He got this horrible pang of – it couldn't be _jealousy_, but he got a pang of _something_ whenever someone showed the slightest interest in Lily or vice versa. 

Lily's face fell just a bit. "I can be fast –"   
  


"Don't change for him Lily, he's not worth it," James said briskly, "and now I bid you farewell for the time being because I'm going to be late for Arithmancy." 

Lily sat there, dumbfounded and about to be late for class. 

"He called me Lily," she said quietly to herself. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

**Teeheehee. I am so evil. Eehevil! R/R! **


	33. Back to the Evan's Household

_A/n; _**All right I lied, this chapter will most definitely start off the summer! But I'm sorry for sectioning off the chapter so much last time – I hate when people skip around that much, but I had a little bit more ground to cover. Keep the reviews coming – I'm appreciating the feedback I'm getting! Keep an eye out for my possible co-author Mary, who has been writing notes back and forth to me during French class about story lines, they're very --- fluffy! **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

The heavy wooden door closed shut behind Lily and she dropped her duffel bag, trunk and backpack on the floor with a series of loud thuds. Her house looked the same as it had when she had left on that night almost three years ago. 

"Mother? Father? Petunia?" she called tentatively through the empty entrance hall. 

"Who's there?" asked the familiar, slightly nasal voice of her sister. 

"Uh – it's me, Lily," Lily said, dreading what would come after she said that. 

Silence ensued. 

"MOM! DAD! THE WENCH IS HOME!" she shrilled. 

The thundering of two pairs of parental feet filled the empty entrance hall and the first thing Lily saw was her stepfather, David - the man she'd learned to hate her entire childhood - followed by her mother, still small and petite though it looked like she had aged far more than three years. 

"Lily!" Candice Evans cried, forgetting her formalities and embracing her daughter in a bone-crunching hug. She then moved on to dissolve into noisy tears. 

Lily didn't know quite how to approach this situation: she and her mother had grown slightly distant since her father's passing when she was only a little child. 

"Oh, Lily," her mother sniffled, "it's been years, darling." 

"I know Mum, but I'm back!" Lily said trying to sound cheerful, her voice muffled against her mother's lavender silk shirt. 

"We're all simply rejoicing Lily," Petunia said sourly. 

"Petty, why don't you go upstairs and watch some television?" her father suggested shortly. "We must talk with your sister for a moment."

"Father! I should think you would want to include me in this _very _important –" 

"Go _now_," David said sternly with a note of steel in his voice. 

"Fine, fine! I'm going," Petunia said huffily, stomping up the stairs. 

Mrs. Evans straightened up, letting go of her daughter and wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve. 

"You ran out of my house and now you expect to be let back in," her stepfather started out by saying, looking sternly at her. 

Lily gulped and shuffled her feet back a little. Her stepfather was staring at her the way a vulture examines its prey. He still scared her, but if she could take on James Potter she could take on her own father. 

"I don't think I need anyone's permission; it's my house as well," she said quietly yet more boldly than she would have before Hogwarts. 

"You don't think that you can just waltz back into here without expecting punishment, do you, Lily?" he asked dangerously. 

"I don't see why I need to be punished; I ran away because I didn't want to grow up under _your _control," Lily hissed, getting a little louder. 

Her father laughed in an icy way. "You are still under my control. You've set foot into my house and you will follow _my _rules!" 

"David –" 

"No Candice, she's an ungrateful brat and should live in the attic!" her father said in an irrational voice. 

"David! She's my child as well and I think you are being _far _too harsh on her!" 

"Far too harsh? She ran away because she's - she's an ungrateful brat and she should not be let back into the house!" he yelled angrily. 

"Don't raise your voice to her, David! She's still a child!" her mother said, cowering a little.

"I can defend myself, Mother," Lily said icily. 

"Go upstairs Lily. You may have your own room back, though you'll probably have to fight Petty back for it," her father said austerely. "Dinner is at 6:00." 

"Thank you," Lily said curtly, though her heart was brimming with happiness. 

"And Lily? You may have your mother on your side, but there will come a time when your mother will not be around to protect you; you're the most ungrateful, most useless little girl I've ever met and if it were up to me, you'd be on the streets." 

Lily nodded, trying not to let his words get to her as she climbed up the familiar wooden staircase. She found her sister sitting eagerly at the top of the landing. 

"Daddy's upset," Petunia said pretended to be upset by this as well. 

"You can all get stuffed," Lily said angrily, trying to brush past her four-year-older sister. Petunia held out and arm and prevented Lily from going any farther. 

"You were wrong to come back, Lily; you're nothing but a freak," she leered with an ugly smile. 

"Let me _go _Petunia!" Lily snarled viciously. Petunia shoved her into the wall. 

"What do you think you're playing at? Why did you _really _come back?" Petunia hissed, pinning Lily roughly into the wall. Lily nearly yelled in pain; she could feel her shoulder digging into the wall. 

"Stop _hassling _me, Petunia! I came back to get my things and get the hell out of here; away from all of you!" she snarled back, trying to claw herself out of Petunia's unusually strong grip. 

"You'd better get yourself out of here fast, Little Miss Witch. Daddy nearly went through the roof," Petunia said nastily. Her ugly horse-like face contorted evilly. She punched Lily in the stomach and Lily let out a grunt, falling to the floor winded. 

Petunia laughed an evil, almost whinnying laugh that suited her face and started to walk away. Lily screamed in fury and, with astounding speed, jumped on top of Petunia. 

"I'm _sick and tired _of everyone pushing me over - Father, _YOU_, _James Potter _-but I assure you, if you come near me again I'll hex you within an inch of your life!" Lily shrieked, absolutely livid. Petunia looked mortified and tried to crawl out of Lily's hold but Lily swiftly punched her in her left eye. 

Petunia howled in pain and tried to come after Lily but the latter was too quick. She'd grabbed her bags and slammed the door to her room, loud sobs finally engulfing her. 

Big, fat, salty teardrops rolled down her face as she tried to take some deep breaths and wished desperately for someone to fly through her window and take her away now. Wryly she noted that her room looked the same as it had before she left, although slightly more juvenile with a big white and pink frilly comforter on her bed and matching nightgowns and curtains. She ripped the nightgowns and threw them out the window and proceeded to rip all of the pictures she had of her and Petunia in matching sister outfits and tossed them out the window as well and watched them flutter out into the perfumed June breeze. 

"Take _that_," Lily said quietly with a sob-strangled voice to no one in particular. 

Beginning to unpack and with a fleetness she couldn't understand, she piled clothes into her duffel bag for the beach. She reached into her drawers and pulled out the only bathing suit she owned: a much too small hot pink one-piece with horrible neon-green bows at the shoulder straps. She held it up in distaste pinched between her index finger and thumb. 

_Well_, she sighed to herself, tossing it in the trashcan, _maybe Sirius can buy me a new one_.

Lily took all of her Hogwarts things and packed them all into her trunk again, adding few more racy things she'd picked up with Sierra, Arabella, Sabrina and… Misty when she was still alive at Gladrags. 

Sighing deeply to herself, she pulled out the next thing in the trunk and stared at it. It was the never-been-worn dress robe James had bought her. Pushing back feelings of nostalgia and hurt and anger, she folded the robe neatly and stuffed it into the bottom of the trunk, hoping she would forget about it. Hot tears of jealousy, anger and sadness stung at her eyelids but she refused to let fall any more tears over him. She'd nearly cried an ocean's worth already. 

"WITCH! DINNER'S READY; YOU SHOULD BE LUCKY WE'RE FEEDING YOU!" 

Lily sighed; she could _not _endure this for an entire week. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Lily darling! Smashing to see you again! Why, it must be _years _since I've seen you!" Sirius said from the Muggle car the Blacks had – borrowed or charmed, Lily couldn't decide which. 

Lily grinned, waving from where she was sunning herself. It was no use, trying to get a suntan – she'd always remain pale as a ghost with nothing but light freckles dusted across the bridge of her nose. She sat up, feeling her thighs stick slightly to the plastic of the chair from the heat. 

"Sirius dahling! How good to see you again!" she exclaimed as Sirius bent over and gave her formal kisses on each cheek, the kind the French use to greet one another. 

"Sir James is waiting in the car rather sourly; doesn't want to see you," Sirius in an oddly clashing bright voice. 

"You mean _Prince _James? I'll go get my stuff –" 

"You must be Lily's – _friend_," Mr. Evans said coolly, standing imperiously at the doorway. 

Lily gulped and shrank back slightly. "I'm just going to get my stuff, Dad." 

"_Father_."

"Of course," Lily stammered, running into the house. 

James, from the car, could see Lily shrink in fear of the imposing manner of her father. He watched her emerge from the house a few seconds later and it looked as though she were toting everything she'd need for the next _year_. Which, James guessed, couldn't be far from the truth judging by how badly she wanted to get out of there. 

Sirius' dad; charming, handsome – like Sirius - got out of the car to jovially shake hands with Mr. Evans but Mr. Evans quickly recoiled. 

"I'll see Lily safely off to Hogwarts," James could hear Sirius' dad say as he cracked the window slightly. It was stifling in the car. 

Lily and Sirius walked to the car and Lily gave a small wave to James. He granted her a half smile – perhaps it was the heat.

"Lils, sorry, but we're going to have to stick you next to James," Sirius said although it looked like he were enjoying himself with a secret joke – probably planned out by the lot of them. 

"Oh –" Lily said, dismayed and horrified at the same time. 

She opened the car door and peeked in, assessing how much room there was for her. It suddenly seemed to get hotter in there and it was all James could do not to let his jaw go completely slack. Her hair, redder than he remembered, was piled up on her head and held with a clip embedded with tiny emeralds. She wore nothing but a pair of faded jean shorts and a white tank top. She looked so simple – yet utterly beautiful – ravishing. 

"You going to let me slide in or sit there gawking like an idiot?" Lily asked in a voice that was a little insecure for her. He raised his eyebrows without saying anything and slid over, though just a bit. He just wanted to feel her right up against him… 

She slid in and shut the door. Sirius smiled triumphantly to himself as he clambered into the front seat. 

Lily gulped, trying not to let the fact that he was _right there _get to her. Goodness, it'd been – forever in her mind since she'd been so close to him. And it was driving her insane. How did he do it? Make her be near him for one second and make her completely _crazy _with a desire to be closer? Clad in nothing but a white tight-fitting ribbed masculine tank top and shorts (_a/n; _**sorry – making you all drool but you know what I mean? Not those like, dork pants but kind of the baggy, cargo ones. I don't mean to make him sound all 21st century but come on; it's _James _here people!**), he looked like a bloody sex god. 

"Comfortable back there?" Sirius asked devilishly, turning around in his seat to see Lily nearly crushing herself against the window and James sitting with his left leg so far apart from Lily's it looked like he was getting ready to do a split. 

"FINE!" They squeaked in the same voice. 

"Great!" Sirius said. __

_Sirius Black, you're a bloody genius_, he said to himself proudly. 

"Well! Are we all ready to go?" Mr. Black asked, getting back into the car. 

"Yes!" They all chorused, but for different reasons of course. 

"All right – Sabrina's house next!" Mr. Black said revving up the car and backing the car bouncily into the street. Lily gulped, digging her nails into the seat cushion as they sped off. Driving in cars with full-fledged male wizards was not an experience she'd like to, well – experience again. 

"So Lily, how's your summer been so far?" Mr. Black asked, looking at her out of the reflection of the rear view mirror. 

"Oh! It's uh – it's been good, thanks," Lily said searching for nice, vague words. 

"That's good…" 

"So James, hoping for one of those prefect spots?" Mr. Black asked in an affectionate fatherly way. 

"I hope not," James said smiling, "but it would be kind of cool." 

"Why not? Why, in my day, being a prefect was the coolest thing around!" Mr. Black said laughing. 

"Yeah dad, back when Stonehenge was under construction," Sirius said rolling his eyes. 

"Oh come on now! Cut your old dad a little slack here, Siri boy!" Mr. Black said cuffing his son on the shoulder. 

Lily didn't think Mr. Black was that old, probably late thirties or early forties. Sirius took after his father in almost every way: his laughing dark eyes, sense of humor, a certain cheekiness with women… though not that Lily had seen that yet, but she could sense it. 

They were silent for a few moments and a few right turns later, they arrived at Sabrina's house and along with her were Arabella, Sierra and Fiona. Arabella was dressed simply in forest green flared capris and a matching forest green halter top; Sabrina in navy blue shorts and a red tank top and Fiona in a very expensive looking pixie-like pink mini-dress with a matching scarf tied around her immaculately-done hair. Even her nails matched!

_Geez, way to pick the powder puff James_, Lily thought grumpily, feeling a huge unexpected jolt of jealousy shoot through her as James scrambled out of the car like some helplessly excited puppy. 

"Hey guys!" Lily said, also getting out of the car. 

"LILY!" They all shouted, enveloping her in hugs. 

"Oh, wow! It hasn't been that long, has it?" Lily said grinning from ear to ear. 

"It has been, trust us Lily," James said, kissing Fiona on the cheek. She was known to glop on the gloss. 

"Oh Jamesie! What a perfect gentleman!" Fiona squealed at his 'manners' and kissed him soundly anyway. 

"Yuck," Arabella muttered under her breath. 

_Oh GREAT Evans, here we go again_, Lily's conscience said to her as the familiar knife of pain sliced through her. 

_Shut up brain, I'm not getting jealous_, Lily told herself. 

_Then go right ahead and think that, but don't start crying when he MARRIES her!_ Her conscience cackled. 

She forced herself to squash the evil side of her brain and feebly smile and utter a 'come on Potter, save some air for the rest of us!" 

Mr. Black, sensing it was time to go, honked the horn. Lily helped Sierra, Sabrina and Arabella with their things and James and Sirius helped Fiona with her bags; the amount of baggage was nearly triple anyone else's luggage. 

"Geez Fiona, planning on staying with Sirius for an extra year?" Lily asked jokingly. 

Fiona whirled around, truly puzzled. "Why, no Lily! I'm staying the summer with him!" 

Lily's eyes widened in disbelief as Fiona smiled in an airhead sort of way. 

_So she's a powder puff _and _an airhead. An utter airhead_, Lily thought laughing to herself, _he must know I've got much more brains than that piece of fluff! _

"Getting everything in ok, kids?" Mr. Black asked, "we want to get there in time for dinner!" 

"Coming dad," Sirius said slamming the trunk shut. Lily clambered in the car behind Sierra and had to cross over James to climb into the backseat. He smiled weakly and pushed his legs back to let her by. Arabella coughed and rolled her eyes, sticking her leg out and tripping Lily. Losing her balance, she fell onto James' lap. James caught her wrists with lightning-fast Quidditch reflexes. Fiona jumped up slightly, trying to fight Lily off James. 

"S – sorry. Arabella's foot was in the way and I –" Lily stammered, suddenly making eye contact with James' sexy chocolaty brown eyes, "uh – tripped." 

James smiled uncomfortably as Lily crawled back with Sierra and Sabrina. Fiona looked furiously at Lily; Lily stuck out her tongue in retaliation. Arabella turned around in her seat and gave Lily a nasty smirk. 

Mr. Black again started the car and headed off, finally, to Wizard's Cove. The summer that would undeniably change all of their lives – but how much more complicated could things get?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**A/N: To tell you the truth, a _lot _more complicated =) Every event they go to tends to change their lives, no? Odd. R/R! Thanks! ** 


	34. The Summer Before 5th Year: Part One

_A/n; _**My stupid computer deleted this chapter so I had to completely re-write it! Sorry for the delay! **

**New Update: My beta-reader and I have had a bit of a – falling out, due to circumstances I cannot control because she acted rather unprofessional at a party I could not attend.  But we've er – patched things up and I don't like the guy she was er – dancing with *looks embarrassed* anymore. So – what was the point of this author's note? To tell you I'm sorry I'm not updating regularly – I haven't been feeling too great about this story! Give me some love and tell me it's good, it'll improve my spirits =)**

**Thank you! **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _****

James cracked a window open to get some fresh air into the muggy car. Lily sat, a little more relaxed, fanning herself with her book. A loose curl fluttered almost unnoticeably against her pale cheek. 

"How are you kids holding up back there?" Mr. Black asked, adjusting the switch on the air conditioning slowly seeping through the car and then seemingly back out again because it was so hot. 

"Dying of heat," Arabella moaned, taking a huge swig of water from her water bottle. 

"My hair!" Fiona said sadly, holding up a limp strand of droopy blonde hair. 

Lily rolled her eyes and tried to sleep; maybe she could escape the heat and the people in the car for a few hours. 

"Mr. Black, do you think we could stop somewhere so I can properly shampoo my hair?" Fiona whined. 

Everyone glared from Fiona to James, even Mr. Black. 

"James, tell your girlfriend to shut up," Lily said crossly while trying to arrange her head in a comfortable sleeping position on her arm. 

"Yes, it would be _quite _hard and probably expensive just to get your hair shampooed," Mr. Black said - trying not to sound rude, from the look of it. 

Silence passed over the car for a few more moments. Lily could her the faint scritch-scratch of quill across paper; Sierra writing to her parents, no doubt. Fiona was whimpering to herself and digging around in her purse for a brush and Sirius was reading a book, surprisingly enough.   
  


James snuck a quick glance at Lily while in between his examination of the quaintness of Wizard's Cove. She was sound asleep with her head resting on her arm as her pillow. Smiling to himself and making sure no one saw, he tucked a loose strand away from her ponytail behind her ear. Just a simple gesture, but a sweet affectionate gesture all the same. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

An hour later, around 3 o'clock, Mr. Black pulled into the driveway of the Blacks' charming mansion of a summerhouse overlooking the entire Atlantic Ocean. Children and adults of all wizarding ages played and frolicked outside in the broad daylight, viewing a sparkling ocean and a cloudless blue sky. 

"All right! Ocean!" Sirius yelled happily, throwing the door open and running out of the car. 

Everyone laughed: only Sirius would get excited about something like that, though everyone was thrilled about spending the summer at the beach. 

James poked Lily hard in the arm. She stirred slightly, lifted her head up in confusion, and yawned hugely. 

"Are we there?" she asked sleepily, getting up. 

"Yeah," James said. Unable to find any other remarks, he climbed out of the car with everyone else. 

"Come on Lily!" Sierra said, practically dragging Lily out of the car. 

"Oh – it's so beautiful!" Lily exclaimed with glee. Everyone was running towards the beach, baggage forgotten. 

"I know," Sierra said smiling. Then, after a short pause, "So is this summer the summer of romance?" 

Lily shot her a dirty look. "Sierra, can you concern yourself with other matters besides my love life?" 

"Who said it was about _your _love life? It was a nonfigurative question," Sierra said with a touch of ice in her voice. 

"Well you _hinted _towards me since I seem to be the only one in the godforsaken car without a love interest," Lily said bitterly. Sierra smiled sadly at her as they walked down the beach where everyone else had jumped into the ocean with all their clothes on. 

"Arabella doesn't have a love interest. Neither does Sabrina," Sierra pointed out. 

"What do you think of Fiona?" Lily said a little uneasily, changing the subject. 

Sierra rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Total airhead like, fer _sure_!" 

"Yeah, James sure has sunk low. I mean, there are _so _many other girls out there who are like, twenty times smarter and prettier and better for him than her…" 

Sierra smiled to herself a triumphant one but didn't say anything else. She trotted over towards Sirius, who really did have the enthusiasm of a dog. Fiona stood there looking apprehensively at James and Sirius who were busy trying to drown one another. 

"I hope we meet some seriously hot beach dudes," Arabella said with a mischievous glint in her eye. 

"I think Lily's already found him," Sabrina said coyly, cocking her head in the direction of James.

Lily rolled her eyes. "For the _love _of _God _I do not like Potter." 

"Well I hope then, in that case, that you do find some seriously hot beach dude because you're going to need to convince yourself of a lot," Sierra said. 

Lily threw up her arms in a resigned fashion. "I'm getting my stuff and _leaving _you all to your crazy notions."

"Bye Lily," they chorused cherubically. Lily was frozen to her spot, wondering whether or not she should leave and finally sighed and ran and jumped into the ocean. 

Something brushed against her leg and she shrieked, pulling herself away from whatever it was. James popped up, gasping for air and his hair plastered to his head. 

"Oh, it's just you," Lily said, pushing his head back down into the water. Seconds later, he wrapped his arms around her knees and flipped her over. 

Coming up spluttering, she looked straight at his amused face. "Silly Lily," he grinned. 

"Stupid Potter," Lily said wiping her hair away from her face and trying to tackle him. He quickly evaded her and she fell flat on her face in the shallow water. 

"Come on Lily, is that the best you can – " 

Lily, easily motivated by her short-fuse temper, lunged at him and caught him by the hem of his shirt, dragging him down and feeling the material rip. He looked down at the giant gash in his shirt and smiled devilishly at her, giving her a quick peck on the lips. 

More outraged than ever and thoroughly disgusted at his nerve, she slapped him smartly across the face. 

"You're too impertinent for your own good," Lily said bitingly. 

James just smirked. "Better unhook your legs from my waist then, Little Miss Boisterous." 

Lily turned red and did as she was told. "You can get Fiona to do all your dirty work for you." 

"Please. She probably doesn't even know the meaning of 'dirty work.'" 

"Oh, so you hired her for her looks?" Lily asked, putting her hands on her hips. 

"I didn't _hire _her, per say –" 

"Please James, like you would have any other use for her other than to make yourself look good," Lily said with a roll of her eyes. 

James looked slightly hurt. "Well, you've kind of ruined me for other girls." 

Lily's jaw dropped in shock, wondering if she heard him right. "What did you say?" 

"I said," James said with care," that you've kind of ruined me for other girls." 

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Lily exclaimed. 

"What do you think it means?" James snapped. "It means that there's no other girl out there, whether it be at Hogwarts or anywhere else, who can live up to what you are." 

"Oh, and what is _that _supposed to mean?" Lily asked crossly, truly annoyed that he didn't give any complimentary explanations.

He tweaked her nose playfully. "I think you _know _what I mean, Lily – and if you don't mind, I'd like to get out now since it's quite cold."  

Lily watched him wade out, Fiona shrieking about the rip in his shirt – shrieking something about how that 'Evans girl' was trying to molest him. He just kissed her long and hard and she was quieted for the moment. 

"Lily! I saw you and James out there," Sabrina said winking and nudging Lily's side once she'd gotten out of the water and wrung out her hair. 

Lily shrugged nonchalantly, now wringing out water in her shirt. "I'm glad." 

"Did he _kiss_ you?" Sierra asked excitedly as Lily walked back to the car to get her things. 

"Ye – s." 

"OH! YES!" they all cried, high-fiving one another. 

"It wasn't that great," Lily said smiling uncertainly, "he did it to piss me off." 

"Doesn't matter, a kiss is a kiss!" Arabella crowed happily. 

"Whatever," Lily said dragging her two duffel bags and her trunk in the pure white sand towards the illuminated house. 

"Mmm… love is _definitely _in the air," Sierra announced, sighing contentedly. 

"No, that's just the salty air. You're all delusional," Lily said, hoping nobody else could detect the insecurity in her voice. 

"Oh, come now! Isn't it meant to be?" Sabrina asked all of them. 

"Oh, please!" Lily said a little to loudly. "The sheer idea of it is absolutely ludicrous! 

"It almost happened!" Arabella reminded the girls. 

"What makes you think it can't happen again?" Sierra pressed. 

Lily opened the door to the beach house, trying to ignore the voices of her friends. "I am _not _listening to this."

"Either you're closing your eyes to a situation you don't wish to acknowledge or you are not aware of what the heart wants enough to listen to it," Sierra shouted after Lily. 

"Thank you!" Lily shouted back to her. 

"Who're you talking to, Lily?" Mr. Black asked from the stove. 

"Oh, sorry Mr. Black – no one," Lily said smiling apologetically. 

"Everyone's in the living room, we're having homemade pizza tonight," Mr. Black said, pointing his spoon dripping with tomato sauce towards the room to her right.

"Thanks," Lily said dropping her stuff by the counter. 

The Black's house was, if possible, even more luxurious and plush than James' house - and this was just their summer home. There was a small fountain at the entrance and the house itself was brightly lit, giving it a cheerful and homely appearance. James and Sirius, still in their wet clothes and James with the giant tear in his shirt, were sitting on a large fluffy couch at the far end of the room near the giant fireplace. They were setting up a wizard's chess game. Fiona was nowhere to be seen – probably showering. 

"This is some place, Sirius," Lily said flopping down on a snowy white recliner. 

"Thanks Lil," Sirius said, biting his tongue in concentration. 

"Do you have any Exploding Snap cards?" Sierra asked, Sabrina and Arabella right behind her. 

"They're in that drawer over there," Sirius said distractedly, watching as James made his first move. 

"Thanks Siri," Sierra said and gave him a peck on the cheek. She took out one of the card packs and set it on the floor. All of the girls scrambled onto the floor to start the game. 

"So – what're we all planning on doing tomorrow?" Arabella asked casually, stacking two cards against each other as the base. 

"Nothing," Lily said nonchalantly, "except going to suntan and swim."

Sabrina raised her eyebrows suspiciously at Lily. "You're not going to go boy hunting with us?" 

"No!" Lily scoffed, stacking four around the tent made by Arabella. 

"That's because she's too busy looking at what she's got at close distance," Sirius said innocently, making it sound as though he was talking to himself.

Lily's jaw again dropped in shock and she looked at Sirius in awe. "I do _not_ want to check out James!" 

Sirius raised an eyebrow casually. James pretended not to hear and was plucking at his ripped shirt. 

"Such a good kitten – sharp claws though," he murmured with mock dismay. 

"She's got you marked James," Sirius said playing along with a roughish wink at Lily, "bet she's an absolute _wildcat _at bedtime." 

Lily got up and nearly pummeled Sirius but Sabrina calmly held the back of her shirt while Lily vainly tried to reach him. "Chill out Lily, it's – probably a compliment, and I want to learn how to surf anyway!" 

"Yes! That's the _perfect _way to get our minds off summer romances!" Lily said most too eagerly. 

James rolled his eyes at Lily. "You know those things never work out anyway."

"They're _fun _to have!" Arabella countered and stuck her tongue out at James.

"Then explain why you're going out with Fiona – oh wait, I _forgot_! All of your relationships are like summer romances – cheesy and never last!" Lily said bitingly. 

Little gasps arose from the teenagers and Arabella hooted, clapping Lily hard on the back. Lily couldn't help but flash a grin that said 'take that' at him. 

"All right, fair enough… now let me have my say," James said reclining back in his chair and stretching languidly, his coolness unruffled. "I may not have the most successful relationships or whatever but at least I can get dates instead of scaring boys off like you do. But I do have to give you props, you can scare like no one's business!" 

"Ooh, good one," Lily said sarcastically. "Maybe I'm not looking for a serious relationship right now – and apparently neither are you." 

"You know I'm finding I can be a very good peacekeeper when I want to be and now I say time-out, Lily and James!" Sirius said holding his hands up in the 'T' position. 

"You're right, Sirius. Let's let the _ladies_ work on their Exploding Snap Game - as if they could _ever _beat our record - and let's busy ourselves with this chess game," James said in a very cheery voice. 

A few minutes had passed and the girls were nearly at the end of their cards, their castle teetering dangerously. The room only needed a slight shake to topple it – one person was missing from the room and when that person came down the stairs, the card castle would no doubt explode. 

"Just – easy does it Arabella!" Sabrina whispered with a look of agony on her face. 

"Hand me those two cards, Lily," Arabella murmured screwing up her face in concentration. James and Sirius had long since abandoned their chess game with Sirius' knight yelling taunts at him to 'finish the game, you scallywag!' 

Lily shakily handed Arabella the final two cards to the deck and Arabella carefully set the two as a tent on top of the rest of the cards. All of them exhaled a relieved breath, very _quietly _of course. 

"There. It's done and it never exploded!" Arabella whispered softly, tucking her dark brown hair behind her ears. 

Movement upstairs caught Lily's attention. "Oh – guys! Save the card deck!" 

"Why?" Sierra asked but soon found out when Fiona's thundering footsteps echoed loudly and closely down the stairs. 

Mini panic erupted when Fiona, looking fresh and perky in periwinkle blue, bounded into the room and the deck crumbled, finally exploding. 

"FIONA!" They all chorused angrily with their hairs standing on end and charred at the edges (not that it made James look any different.) 

"Oopsies!" Fiona guiltily giggled the way a cute five-year-old would do if she got her hand caught in the cookie jar. 

Lily was livid; soot coated her face. "Potter! Your girlfriend just ruined our game!" 

"I _said _I was _sorry_, Leelee!" Fiona said angrily. James went over to comfort her, but shot Lily a nasty look. 

Sabrina laughed out loud. "Did you just call her _Leelee_?" 

"That's her _name _isn't it?" Fiona shot nastily, her voice muffled against James' shirt. 

"It's _Lily_, you fluffbrain," Sabrina shot back just as sharply. 

"Leelee, Lily, their basically the same," James said irritated. 

"Oh stop defending me James! I can handle them," Fiona said. 

Suddenly it seemed a huge rift was torn between Lily and James – well, bigger than before and their friends seemed to be taking Lily's side. Fiona was ruining their whole summer and it'd only been the first day; she couldn't even get Lily's name right! And now James was defending her, even if he didn't even like her that much – maybe he liked Fiona more than they were giving him credit for. Or maybe he was just trying to peeve Lily – hopefully it was just the latter of the two. Lily didn't think she'd be able to take him liking someone like _her_. 

"We'll see about that," Lily said, the two girls nearly nose-to-nose. 

"Dinner's ready, kids!" Mr. Black called from the kitchen. 

Summer, so far, was not off to the greatest start. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

(**a/n; **_haha! Not over yet!_)

The next morning, the first thing that wafted up to the girls' room was the delicious odor of warm pancakes and syrup with fresh strawberries. Lily groggily got up, having just about the best sleep she'd had since – well, before Misty's death. 

"Come on guys, I want to get out and hit the beach!" Sierra said, jumping out of bed. Arabella was already dressed; she always liked to be up early on vacation time. Poor Sabrina had to be in the same room with Fiona, one room over. 

"Sierra, its vacation – sleep is priority number one!" Lily said tiredly. She looked blearily at the harsh sunlight streaming through the high windows. 

"No, no! It is vacation, therefore meaning you get your butt out of bed before I drag you out!" Arabella said and threw Lily's covers off. 

"Agh! COLD!" Lily shouted pitifully, feeling around blindly for her covers. 

"Come on Evans, we want to get down there before we have to see – _Fiona and James_," Sierra said ominously, knowing that would wake Lily up. 

Sure enough, Lily bolted out of bed still wearing her pajamas and raced down the stairs. Sierra and Arabella looked at each other, trying to smother their laughter. 

Sirius, Fiona and James were already at breakfast but Lily couldn't see Sirius over the _giant _stack of pancakes in front of him. 

"Sirius, you really aren't going to eat all of them are you?" she asked incredulously, plunking herself down in the chair across James'. 

"Morning Lily m'dear," Sirius said. "And no I'm not. I have to give some to my starving guests!" 

Lily picked up a fork and a plate already sitting at the end of the table and speared two fluffy, golden pancakes to shake off on her plate. 

"Two pancakes of that size? Oh my, someone's really looking for a way to gain some pounds!" Fiona said with a small giggle. 

Lily forced out a ditzy laugh, cutting the first pancake rather viciously apart. "Well, I should say it's better than starving myself." 

"Ladies, ladies," Mr. Black said coming over with a parenting stare of warning. 

"Sorry Mr. Black," Lily said, flashing an apologetic smile at him. 

"Morning all!" Sierra crowed cheerily, plopping herself next to Sirius and giving him a kiss. 

"Don't you look… perky," Fiona said as though downsizing another cheerleading, cookie-baking opponent. 

"The beach puts me in the mood," Sierra said breezily. 

"Yeah, speaking of beach – we should get out there before everyone else does," Sirius said brightly, completely unaware of the catfight about to break loose. 

"Lily, you look pissed," James said chomping away innocently on his waffles. 

"How can you think of eating at a time like this James?" Lily burst out savagely. 

"What?" James asked, a bit of syrup dribbling down his chin. 

"Ugh! Just – never mind," Lily said angrily and got up, nearly running into Arabella. 

"Ah! Good! We've eaten – are we going now?" Arabella asked brightly. 

"Going where?" Sirius asked doubtfully. 

"We have to pick up a few items," Sierra said brightly. She kissed Sirius briefly before getting up as well. 

"Wait – where will we meet up later? How long do you think you'll be gone for?" Sirius asked. 

"Oh – not before one o'clock probably," Sierra smiled. The four girls giggled before scampering out the door and left Sirius with James and Fiona, a nightmare in itself. 

Once they were out the door, they all breathed in the fresh air, which always seemed to be fresher when you were on vacation. 

"I'm _so _glad I'm out of that house!" Sierra exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, me too – Fiona is the most obnoxious little brat I've ever met!" Lily said heatedly. 

"She really is – I mean where does she get off thinking she can ruin our summer vacation?" Arabella said peeved. 

"She is ruining it, isn't she? I mean who wants stupid Potter's girlfriend around all summer?" Lily asked. 

"Oh hey, let's go here!" Arabella said interrupting their conversation of discussing the abominable Fiona. They'd reached a street of small, beachside shops designed specifically for wizards seeking entertainment at the water's edge.

"Looks decent enough," Lily said swallowing hard, hoping she wasn't making a mistake when she looked at the shop title: 'Madame Smutte's Clothing for Extraordinarily Extroverted Women.'

They stepped into the store and their senses were immediately flooded with the strong scent of cheap perfume. Racks were stacked with low cut shirts, short-shorts, other cheap wizard stuff and the skimpiest bathing suits Lily had ever seen. 

"Hey y'all, what can I help you with?" A busty blonde asked in a horribly thick American accent. She had flabby, pasty thighs oozing out of mini jean shorts and wore a low cut lavender shirt (if you could even call it a shirt, Lily thought with a note of disgust) that pushed out her ample bosom. She had about five layers of Muggle makeup caked onto her face and lurid purple lipstick on her puffy lips. Her greasy blonde hair, probably dyed, was pulled into a messy ponytail/bun. She reeked of the cheap perfume and smacked her chewing gum loudly, occasionally blowing a bubble. 

All of the girls gaped in awe at her. She was like nothing they'd ever seen – it was atrocious!

"Uh…" Sierra said completely shocked. 

"We – are looking for some swimsuits," Lily said slowly, not taking her eyes off the sales person. 

The woman's face lit up and showed her slightly crooked teeth when she smiled. "Oh goody! Swimsuits are my specialty." 

"Good Lord, are they?" Arabella said incredulously, trying not to laugh at the sales person and her comical, slutty appearance. 

"Oh yeah, and we've got _every _kind of bathing suit imaginable!" She said even more gleefully. She took a glance at Sabrina, who was busy looking at the shorts. 

"Can I help you, miss?" The salesperson asked, popping her chewing gum in Sabrina's face. 

Sabrina smiled awkwardly, looking over her shoulder to where Lily, Arabella and Sierra were standing as though they were scared to move. 

"I – I'm fine," Sabrina choked, trying not to inhale the perfume, "just browsing." 

"Oh, that's great! By the way, you can call me Candy!" she said brightly. 

"Well Candy, we're kind of in a hurry so –" Lily began, hoping to make a clean getaway. 

"Oh, nonsense! You're not leaving my sight until you girls are satisfied!" Candy said in a no-nonsense voice. 

"We're going to be stuck here _forever_," Arabella groaned miserably. 

"All right, now who are you?" Candy asked pointing to Arabella with her long, hot pink nails. 

"Arabella Figg," Arabella said as if she was getting a death sentence, "but I'm not the one who needs a bathing suit – Lily does!" 

Lily gulped as Candy looked over her and dragged her to the swimsuit section. 

"You're a very pretty girl, Lily," Candy said cheerfully, her pink fingernails clawing through racks trying to find some suits. 

"Thank you," Lily said. 

"Aha! Here, you're more of a – well, not a red, certainly!" Candy giggled, holding up a silver mesh bathing suit to Lily. Lily shrank against the hideousness of it. 

"I'd like something a bit – classy," Lily said and it sounded to her as though she were asking for the _moon _in a that store. 

"Classy, eh?" Candy clicked her tongue, "black had better be the choice – never goes out of style!" 

_Oh, perfect!_ Lily thought miserably as Candy rifted through a rack of teeny tiny black bikinis. 

"Try this on," Candy instructed and pointed over to the changing room doors. 

Lily gulped and looked at the two tiny pieces of clothing hanging on the hanger and trotted over to the dressing rooms. 

_All right Evans, you can do this_, her brain said. 

"Oh, God…" Lily said a few minutes later.

"Lily! Come out! We want to see it!" Sierra called through the door. 

"No _fucking _way," Lily said absolutely ashamed of herself for ever putting it on. 

"Lils, it cannot be that bad!" Sabrina cajoled. 

"Yes it can!" Lily exclaimed. 

"Just come out and then we promise if you don't like it, you can put it back," Arabella said sensibly. 

Lily sighed resignedly. "All right, I'm coming out. Just don't make snide comments." 

She opened the door slowly, crossing her arms firmly across her chest. 

"Aw Lily! You look awesome! Wait until James sees you!" Sabrina said truly meaning it. 

Lily paled considerably and looked back at herself in the mirror. "Oh, dear Lord, James is going to see me in this!"   
  


"Well, he will if you buy it," Sierra admitted. 

"Then I'm not buying it; I don't need Potter ogling after me this summer," Lily said firmly. 

"Fine Lil, but you look great," Sabrina remarked. 

A look of agony crossed Lily's face. "I know! I like it too, surprisingly enough, but I cannot go out looking like this!" 

"Lily, chill. No one from school is going to see us here and it's the summer! You're allowed to step out from the usual," Sierra said confidently. 

Lily bit her lip, debating whether or not to purchase it. 

In the end, Lily was the only one who ever bought anything from 'Madame Smutte's Clothing for Extraordinarily Extroverted Women.'

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Where _are they?" James asked impatiently, his arm slung carelessly across Fiona's slim waist as they sat on the beach. The ocean seemed to be calling them but James wanted to wait for the girls to get back. _

"They'll be back soon, its one o'clock now," Sirius said looking wistfully out at the ocean. 

"James, you and Sirius can go on in, I'll wait for the girls!" Fiona said cheerily, wearing a lavender colored bikini that did not leave much to the imagination, to put it nicely. 

"Nah, that's ok – I'm getting a rather nice tan," Sirius said happily.   
  


"Oh, I think I see them!" Fiona said, waving over to the four girls who were in their beachwear. 

"WONDERFUL! There's Fiona – wearing next to nothing," Lily said with a look of utter disgust on her face. 

"Yeah, she's _definitely jealous," Sabrina said loudly, winking at the girls. _

"Am not!" Lily cried, agitated. 

"Come on Lily, you've got to be jealous otherwise you wouldn't care this much – simple as that," Sierra said rolling her eyes. 

"Where did you guys go anyway?" Sirius asked with James and Fiona coming up behind him. 

"Oh – nowhere," Arabella said digging her toes into the white sand. 

"Bathing suit shopping, you know – Lily needed one," Sabrina said innocently. 

Lily had on a long black sarong that would match her bathing suit and had borrowed the largest t-shirt anyone had brought with them and she looked quite comical in a huge Aerosmith (Arabella's shirt; big fan of Muggle music) concert shirt. She glared warningly at Arabella, who pretended not to notice.

"You look – attractive," James said shortly. 

"Jaaaaaaaaaaamesie! Lets go in the ooooooooocean!" Fiona whined, tugging on his arm. 

"Yes Potter, do run along," Lily said quickly, hoping nobody would have to see her in the bathing suit. 

"Come on Sirius, let's go try out these new Muggle things – those surfboards," James said, pointing to the two that they'd brought down with them. He picked one up and admired it a bit. 

"Good Lord, Potter, are you actually going to do try and surf?" Lily asked, not bothering to hold in a snort of laughter. 

"I figure if I can play Quidditch –" 

"Then you can do anything, heard it!" Lily said putting her hands on his shoulders and whirling him around to face the ocean and march him down the beach. He dropped the surfboards near the shore and whirled around. 

"Get off me!" James said gruffly, trying to kick her. 

"I have to ask you one thing – don't look at me in my suit today," Lily said suddenly, with her eyes slightly downcast. 

James shrugged. "Can't promise anything." 

"Well see, I've got this self-conscious issue so if you would just – _not make fun of me today, it'd be great," Lily said giving him a hopeful thumbs up and walking back up to where the rest of the gang was standing. Fiona ran past her to catch up with James. _

"I'm going to spread out my towel and just suntan," Sabrina said primly setting out her giant fluffy purple beach towel, sat down and got out the tanning oil she brought with her. 

"I'm going in the ocean!" Sierra said cheerfully, pulling off her t-shirt and revealing her sky-blue, _very classy_, two-piece. 

"I love that two-piece, Sierra!" Arabella said, wearing a red one since red was definitely her color. 

"Yeah, I bought it last year when Jaden and I went to visit our aunt in Ireland," Sierra said with a glint of sadness in her eyes at the mention of Jaden. Still no word followed him or his whereabouts. 

"All right Lils, moment of truth here!" Sirius said gleefully. "Should I get the camera?" 

Lily shrieked. "Great wizards, no! If anybody _ever _finds out I've been parading about all summer with Sirius Black and James Potter in the same house as I and wearing this skimpy piece of cloth – I'll just die of humiliation!" 

"Ok…" Sirius said blinking confusedly. 

Lily took a deep breath and quickly whipped off the Aerosmith shirt. 

"Whoa, Lily, you look –" Sirius said with his jaw nearly grazing the sandy ground, " – just marvelous!" 

"Hey!" Sierra said pouting. 

Sirius grinned roguishly. "Of course, not as beautiful as my Sierra!" 

"Thank you," Sierra said wrapping her arms around his neck. 

"All right, you two!" Arabella said laughing. 

"I'm too hot – let's just _go_!" Sirius said, running down to the ocean and dove right into the sparkling water. 

"I'm with Sirius!" Sierra shouted, whooping with happiness and they all made their way down to the beach. 

James was having the time of his life trying to figure out how to surf and turned around just to glance to see if Sirius was coming and fell off his surfboard when he saw Lily. Sirius laughed at James' antics and ran out with his surfboard to try his hand at it. 

James surfaced, spluttering and coughing – salt water in his mouth. "Is that _Evans?" _

Sirius paddled his surfboard out to where James was treading water. "She's something isn't she?" 

James smoothed his wet hair back from his face and just gaped at her. "Y – yeah." 

"Yes and you're here with Little Miss Diva. Tell me James, how _do you do it?" Sirius asked sarcastically. _

"She's not that bad," James said defensively. 

"_Yeah… you keep believing that," Sirius said patting him on the shoulder. _

"I will," James said stubbornly, "now let's surf!" 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

After several hours and countless potentially dangerous attempts at surfing, the teenagers all sat on three logs placed in a triangle shape around a giant bonfire. It was around dusk and there was just a semi-circle of sun behind the clouds, setting a pinkish glow across the ocean. Lily was the only one who never got wet and had instead spent her time laughing at Sirius and James' antics and having her red hair annoyingly whipped into her eyes and sea foam lapping at her manicured toes. 

Sierra rested her head lightly on Sirius' shoulder, same as Fiona with James. James looked most pained to have her resting her head on his shoulder. 

"Did you kids have fun?" Mr. Black asked. He came down to make the fire and they were all contentedly sitting on the logs with their towels stretched out. Lily was far too sleepy and languid from the heat to be bothered by Fiona's incessant stroking of James' bicep. He looked much too contented to actually do something either. 

"Yeah, it was great," Sirius said tiredly, watching Mr. Black settle down next to his son and wrap a fatherly arm around his other shoulder that wasn't occupied by his raven-haired girlfriend. 

"What are our plans for tomorrow?" Arabella asked watching the flames lick the wood and burn pieces to curling ash. 

"There's a Ministry luau this Friday – if you kids are all interested," Mr. Black said, though looking not like he was much looking forward to going. "And I figured I'd take you kids since a lot of the kids you go to school with are children of the people I work with." 

Arabella's eyes lit up like that of a young girls' at a word like 'fairytale' or 'Prince Charming.' "You mean we get to dress up and go hang out with people from Hogwarts?" 

"Duh Bella," Lily said with a smile. "Boys!" 

Sirius snorted and Sierra was woken from her peaceful nap when he stood up and brushed sand off his swim trunks. 

"Hey, for us single swingin' chicks this luau could be our _savior," Arabella pointed out, slightly embarrassed. _

"Oh no Arabella, I was just excited about the prospect about dressing up and getting to have a party on the beach," Lily said with a touch of sympathy in her voice. 

James rolled his eyes. "You guys are pathetic." 

"With a girlfriend like that –" Lily started. 

"Enough guys!" Mr. Black said holding up his hands in protest although he couldn't suppress a small smile. 

"The material's getting old Lily," Fiona said coolly and regarded Lily with eyes that said 'drop it – you missed your chance with him.' 

Lily instantly felt a new surge of hatred for Fiona course through her and it _wasn't because she was ruining their vacation. Was she – nah… She wasn't __jealous, was she? A pang of worry sliced through her at the thought of being jealous over Fiona dating him and she not. _

"You coming Lily?" Sabrina asked, reaching for her towel and indicating with her hand that the fire was dying and signaling the end to the first nearly perfect day of vacation. 

"Oh – yeah," Lily said and scooted off the log to trail after Sabrina. 

A thought was nagging in the back of her mind and told her something was wrong but she didn't believe it until she saw the Black Manor (as they had come to call it). The lights were all out and the windows had been smashed in the most unique way – there was not a shard left in any frame. Everyone's jaws were dropped in shock and horror; Mr. Black was already inside and yelling frantically. Sirius bolted into the house, yelling after his dad to be careful. 

"Holy –" James said rushing in after Sirius. 

"What happened?" Fiona asked, her eyes reflecting the first emotion Lily had ever seen her portray: fear. 

Lily shook her head in disbelief; bad luck seemed to follow them even on vacations. 

"I hope to God there's no one inside…" Sierra said softly, her eyes wide. 

"I'm going in there," Lily said determinedly. The three girls, excluding Fiona who was standing far away with her arms wrapped securely around herself, looked resolute in helping Lily. 

"Don't follow me," Lily continued, stripping off her Aerosmith shirt to make herself more nimble moving through the wrecked house. "You don't know what's in there." 

"And I suppose you do?" Arabella asked sharply, "Lily, we're not –" 

"Just stay there!" Lily called back to them angrily and slipped in through the back door. 

She couldn't hear anything but the pulsing of the blood in her ears – it was deathly quiet in the house, sounding as though no one was there. She tried to call out to James or Sirius but no words came from her mouth; her throat too dry and tight to talk. She was shaking with paranoia and looked into the living room, where they had spent the previous evening playing Exploding Snap. The thought made her stomach churn. She looked at the beautiful furniture turned over and the coverings ripped and slashed up like it was an animal ready to be made into food. The portraits that hung over the great fireplace, also slashed and some littering on the floor, were thrown off the walls and were strewn about the floor that was also covered in broken porcelain shards from vases and other artifacts. She carefully stepped over the debris and suddenly heard a noise. It was a faint rustling noise coming from the main foyer where the main entrance was located. The door had been blown away, probably by force or – by a spell of some sort and the darkness falling filled an eerie gap where the door should've been. 

"W – who's there?" Lily called out hoarsely, her voice shaking. 

Nothing. She breathed out slowly, trying to calm her nerves and get to Sirius, Mr. Black and James. Without warning, a dark figure thundered down the stairs heading straight for the door – it was holding a bundle in its arms. Lily swayed on the spot, her knees weak with fear but some courage instilled in her told her to go after the dark figure. It looked at her for a brief moment and piercing, eerie violet cat-like eyes glowed in her direction as it raised its wand. She thought for a brief moment she'd seen eyes like those before and then she screamed as loud as she could when Sirius came up behind it and jumped on its back. It wailed in a screech that seemed inhuman and blasted a jet of orange light at Sirius, causing Sirius to be flung into the air and land harshly on the wooden floor a few feet behind. He grunted in pain and the creature made a mad dash - a dash with the sinuous grace of a feline - for the door and disappeared into the bleak night. 

"Sirius!" Lily shouted, running over to him. 

He slowly got up, leaning himself on his elbows. He wheezed and tried to catch his breath. "That – that thing – took – " 

"Took what?" Lily asked desperately, helping him up. 

"Follow – me…" he replied coughing. 

They ran up the stairs to the Mr. Black's study and found James white-faced and shaking badly with a bad cut that went from the cheekbone of his right cheek to his jaw. Mr. Black was passed out on the floor and not looking like he was breathing. 

"Wh – what happened?" Lily asked, terrified and not sure if she was to help James or Mr. Black first. 

"He – _it – we chased it up here and cornered it but – he took out and muttered some curse at Mr. Black and he hit the ground and wouldn't wake up. I tried to stop him from going out the window and succeeded but then he took a vase and __smashed it – slashed me across the face with it," James said all in a semi-rational voice, though still sheet white. _

"Is Mr. Black - is he - I mean, he isn't - he isn't…dead. Is he?" Lily asked tentatively, bending down to look at Mr. Black. He looked like James, deathly white. 

"I – don't know," James said crawling with some difficulty next to Lily. She looked up at Sirius who was trying very much to keep a straight face. 

"We should get him out of the house," he said logically. Lily marveled at the coolness of his stance, only slightly betrayed by his heavy swallow. "Me and James will support his weight if you can go and alert the neighbors." 

Lily agreed and with fleetness, ran down the stairs and outdoors. 

"What happened?" Arabella asked, coming around the house with Fiona, Sierra and Sabrina. 

"Mr. Black… he – he's hurt badly, and we need help!" Lily panted but didn't wait for them as she ran down the stretching lawn towards the cheerfully lit neighbor's house. 

"Lily! Wait!" the girls chorused and ran as fast as they could to catch up with her. 

Sweating and about to throw up, she rang the doorbell. A familiar face poked his head out of the door: Amos Diggory. Blushing like a little schoolgirl and temporarily having a brain lapse (she still did have _somewhat _of a lingering crush for him), she stood there twiddling the fringe on her sarong. 

"Lily?" He asked, squinting, "Lily Evans?"   
  


"Amos," she said breathlessly, the others catching up to her, "we have an emergency: somebody has broken into the Black's house and injured Mr. Black very badly. We need someone out here immediately!" 

Amos' face changed from its pleased state to a concerned mask. He opened the door all the way and came outside. He touched Lily's arm and made her swoon on the inside. "Are you all right?" 

"Oh, I'm fine – a little shaken up but please, we need help!" Lily said, surprised she wasn't melting from his hand still lingering on her shoulder. 

"I'll go get my parents," he said severely and walked inside briskly. 

"Oooh… the truth comes out," Arabella teased. 

"Yeah, she's jealous of _Fiona _all right," Sierra said winking unmistakably at Lily, "yeah right." 

Lily blushed even more. "Knock it off you guys, I don't like Amos. And anyway, don't you think this is really not the time?" 

"You know," Sabrina continued, oblivious, "he's _very _attractive – I can see how you'd like him … a lot of James-like qualities." 

Lily scowled. "Now _that is not funny!"_

Amos returned with his parents, their faces all very grave. 

"Where's Mr. Black?" Mr. Diggory asked, small wrinkles forming above his eyebrows as his eyes narrowed in puzzlement. 

Lily cleared her throat. "Follow me." 

They followed Lily back up the roll of the hill back up to the Black's Manor and found James and Sirius sitting next to Mr. Black's limp form. 

Pursing their lips, the Diggory's bent down and examined Mr. Black's condition. Mrs. Diggory whispered a spell and lifted him up on an invisible stretcher when a group of MediWizards Apparated out of thin air. They quickly bustled around Mr. Black and jostled Lily and her friends to the side and the tallest man there, a thin-haired man took off his hat and bowed at everyone. 

"He'll be fine – I assure you, but we need to take him to St. Mungo's… we'll need to perform some tests and probably keep him overnight –" 

His speech was interrupted by a burst of unexpected sobs from Sirius. They were quiet of course, but still unmistakable. Sierra draped her arms sympathetically around his shoulders as the MediWizards, along with Mr. Black, Disapparated from sight. 

"You poor children – we'll go back to the house tomorrow and collect your things. This has been a terrible ordeal!" Mrs. Diggory said with sympathy reflecting in her eyes. 

"Come along, you can spend the night at our house," Mr. Diggory said, helping the grief-stricken bunch down to the house. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Well, I'm glad your father is fine!" Sabrina said with a dull, false cheeriness the next morning. Lily woodenly walked with the rest of them back up the house which looked like it'd lost it's spirit – it sat on the majestic green lawn with anything but a welcoming air to it. 

"We all are – we all suffered _quite _a shock last night," Amos said who has his arm around Lily's shoulders for support. She hadn't spoken nary a word since the incident. Her eyes held no glimmer and reflected jaded pools of green. 

James rubbed his eyes tiredly and looked at Fiona who's eyes were open wide with suspicion and paranoia – occasionally her head would jerk back to look to see if anyone was behind them. She snuggled as close as she could to James who always felt like she was suffocating him. 

"Let's just get this over with so we can get away from this house – we can always rebuild," Sirius said in a dead voice. Sierra looked at her boyfriend with pity on her face: she'd never seen him go so long without cracking a smile or a joke. 

Arabella had stayed at the house; too scared to move at all. Something else had conspired last night that was to foretell of greater, and more terrible things, to come. And she felt it – they all felt it… but no one was ready to admit it. 

"I'm getting my stuff and leaving as quickly as possible," Lily told Amos and he walked with her inside and left the others to their devices. 

James followed her and Fiona trailed after him like a lost puppy. The house seemed brighter since it was not dark and lost the scary edge it had the previous night – but still they felt haunted and Lily's movements were quick and jerky. 

She crept up to the bedroom where they had stayed and had her wand already pulled out when she dramatically kicked the door open. The curtains flapped in the breeze and the windows had been shattered, like most of the windows in the house. Miraculously, none of the girls' things had been touched, save Sierra's. She gaped in horror at the mess of Sierra's things on the floor: makeup products strewn all over, a few perfume bottles broken on the floor, robes ripped up and laid in strips on the floor as well as all of her books, Lily sadly noted, were ripped in chunks out of their bindings. Someone had been looking for something and maybe they'd found it – or maybe they hadn't. 

Sirius came bolting through the door, eyes wide with panic. "Where's James?" 

"Right here," James said just as breathless as Sirius was. They both had a look of the same sort of worry on their faces. 

"They took it, James!" Sirius cried with a look of utter shock inscribed on his face. 

"What? They took what?" Lily asked wildly. 

  
James looked at her and Lily knew what he was about to say would endanger the lives of all who witnessed what had conspired the previous night. 

"We're no longer safe Lily – someone's got us marked." 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A/N: Ooooh… even I got chills up the spine! Sorry it took so long to write! I totally apologize and I thank EVERYONE who has reviewed and kept with the story! I LOVE YOU GUYS! R/R! 


	35. The Summer Before 5th Year: Part Two

_A/n; _**I promise I'll make an effort to make the stories a) longer and b) less time in between uh – _installments _but I can't be POSITIVE! So don't kill me =)**

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

A man stood cloaked in the middle of the room, the lights from a fire lit setting orange, eerie glows on the walls and casting a shadow of the pensive-looking man. There was another man – a tall, slim and also cloaked figure sitting in a velvety green high-backed chair. A snake lay patiently curled, almost like a dog at its master's feet, eyeing the man with careful, lazy eyes. The look of hunger was never extinguished. 

_"Good work, Lethesine," the man said in a soft, hissing voice. _

_"Thank you, my Lord," the other man said, obviously a servant hired to carry out the previous speaker's jobs. _

_"You have done very well – where is the girl?" _

_"T – the girl, my Lord?" the man asked, the smarmy tone in his voice gone. _

_"The girl, you fool! Where is she?" the wiry figure asked angrily, getting up from his perched position on the chair. Lethesine trembled before the larger, thinner man. _

_"M – my Lord, you said to only g – get the artifact!" Lethesine said choking on his own saliva in fear. _

_"You blundering fool – I should kill you right here," the man said, revealing his face by removing the hood. Lethesine gasped out loud in horror and recoiled as though he'd been struck: the man was as pale as death, had lips as red as blood and horrible red, scaly-like skin. A pointed chin and two thin slits for a nose only added to this creepy, evil man standing before Lethesine. _

_"P – please my Lord, have mercy! I did not know," Lethesine cried, quavering and moving towards the door when he stopped. The snake had raised its languid head and was bobbing it slowly from side to side like a drunken head jiggle. _

_"You see what you have done, Lethesine? You have awakened the snake – and I shall leave your fate in her hands," the man hissed with a sickeningly pleased look on his face. _

_"Lord, no my Lord, please do not!" Lethesine said with his voice raising an octave in his desperation as he quickly moved toward the door. The monstrous snake hissed dangerously and lurching forward, met up with Lethesine eye to eye in a matter of seconds. _

_The man smiled and pulled his wand out of his pocket. "You've failed me, Lethesine, and you know I don't like failures. I don't reward stupidity and you will pay – with your life." _

_And the snake slowly advanced, as though to prolong the horror, on Lethesine and a piercing, horrified shriek filled the heavy night air – _

Lily Evans jerked up from her nightmare, breathing hard and drenched in cold sweat. 

"Lily – Lily! What is it?" Sierra asked sleepily, though there was full concern in her voice. 

"Oh, nothing," Lily said wiping little wisps of hair that had stuck to her forehead with a shaky hand, "just a bad dream."   
  


Sierra eyed her skeptically but turned over on her bed back to sleep. Lily breathed in and out a few times; trying to convince herself it was only a bad dream – now if she could only shake the feeling that the person who had burglarized the Black Manor and nearly killed Mr. Black was Sierra's brother, Jaden Lethesine. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Friday snuck up on them quickly and Mr. Black, who had been at St. Mungo's for a few days longer, returned back to Wizard's Cove in peak condition again. They never fully understood what happened to him but he recovered well and little more was thought of the accident. The gang was now residing at the Diggory's residence until they could find people to rebuild the Black's house. 

"The dinner and dancing starts at six and ends around midnight," Mr. Black said nonchalantly flipping through the _Daily Prophet_ while the rest of them played on the beach on the semi-sunny day. 

"Ugh – I think I've got sand in places I don't even know I had," Sirius complained, his cheeks red from the exertion of playing an aggressive game of Frisbee, a game Lily had taught Sirius, James and Amos – plus a few boys Amos knew from previous vacations at Wizard's Cove. They all (Amos, Sirius and James – the other boys had gone back to the ocean) plopped down in the sand. James almost obediently went to sit next to Fiona. 

"I'm going to go get us some ice cream, are you all interested?" Mr. Black asked, getting up and folding his newspaper. They all nodded; the sun was so bright and they were hungry.

"I can't wait for the Ministry luau tonight!" Sabrina said happily, watching Amos with interest as Mr. Black walked away. She seemed to gravitate towards Amos more and more and it slightly disturbed Lily. 

"Oh trust me, we've been to plenty – they're nothing to write home about," Amos said shrugging, raking a hand through his wavy strawberry-blond hair. 

Lily's eyes shifted back to Amos and then to James, Amos then James… so alike, yet so different. They had practically the same builds – room to be muscular but lean and broad-shouldered at the same time. They were both mild mannered and although James had an explosive temper when he got mad, he was also as competitive as Amos. Both played Quidditch rather well and had slews of girls already chasing after them. Lily felt she was torn between the two – she was falling hard for Amos, and James… well, she'd been off and on with him. 

"So James, going to be Quidditch captain next year?" Amos asked casually. 

"Yeah," James said also acting like it was no big deal, "if Jonathan resigns and just wants to be Keeper next year." 

"Fat chance – Quigley's the best thing the Gryffindor team's ever seen," Amos said. 

"Oh really?" James asked, irritated with Amos' tone. 

"Yeah, I mean – you're a great asset to the team but Quigley's just the," Amos said in an even voice. 

"Thanks – he's ok," James said awkwardly. 

"I mean really, if I wasn't in Hufflepuff I'd want him on my team," Amos said examining his nails and going on with the conversation like he was talking about weather. 

"Jesus, we get it," James said heatedly, "he's not that good." 

"Well Potter – I hate to admit it, but neither are you," Amos said bluntly, not a trace of remorse on his handsome features. 

Sirius' jaw dropped and the rest of the teenagers knew that Amos had made a mistake: get James on the topic of Quidditch, you'll never hear the end of it; get him insulted about his Quidditch skills, he'll rip you apart limb for limb. 

James merely raised his eyebrows in shock. "What'd you say to me?" 

"I simply said you're not that good… sorry, Potter," Amos said shrugging. 

James felt his face flush with anger and balled his fists in tightly. "Say it again and I'll rip that pretty smirk off your face, you swot!" 

"James – I think you'd just better let it go," Sirius warned; he knew a fight would break out if he didn't put an end to the verbal battle. 

"No Black, let the man fight his own battles," Amos said with a taunting smirk on his face. "Yyou think you can take me, Potter?"

"I _know _I can take you," James said confidently, pushing Amos back slightly. Amos was startled but pushed back and James knocked into Fiona, causing her to fall over. 

"James! Stop this right now," Lily cried, but her plea fell on deaf ears as James gave Amos another rough shove and Amos fell backwards into the sand, with James on top pummeling the living daylights out of Amos. 

Amos punched James on the side of the face and temporarily winded him when he kicked him in the stomach, rolling them over. Mr. Black, who was coming back with the ice creams floating along behind him, dropped his wand (the ice creams fell to the ground) and ran to where a small crowd of people had gathered chanting 'fight, fight' and Lily, Sabrina, Sierra and Arabella yelling for them to stop. 

"James – get off him!" Lily screamed. Finally having enough, she grabbed his shoulder but he forcefully pushed her off him, ignoring her as she fell roughly to the ground. Sierra helped her up; Lily's eyes filled with tears. 

"ENOUGH!" Mr. Black bellowed and the small crowd scattered, leaving the panting and bruised boys to deal with their punishments. 

"What happened here?" Mr. Black continued with anger clouding in his eyes. Amos stood up, wiping his bleeding lip with the back of his hand. 

"We were um – just – " James started but Mr. Black held up his hand, disgusted. 

"I know what's happened and I understand the rivalry that's going on here," Mr. Black's gaze shifted indistinctly on a bewildered Lily and then slowly back to James and Amos, "and I want you to get over it." 

James bowed his head in shame, nodding mutely. 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Black, we've acted like children – but James, he – " 

"Mr. Diggory, I'm _ashamed _that you've picked on someone who's at least a _year _younger than you," Mr. Black said sternly with a note of steel in his voice. 

"Yes sir," Amos said, also abashed. 

"I don't think I'll be telling your parents but consider it a fair warning," Mr. Black said in a finality-toned voice. 

"Thank you sir," they both mumbled. Lily shook her head disgustedly. She never could predict James, but picking a fight with Amos? Despicable!

"I think we should be getting back to the Diggory's," Mr. Black said in an almost regular voice. 

"Are you all right Lily?" Amos asked as they started packing up their stuff. 

"I'm fine," she replied timidly. 

"I'm sorry Potter's such a jerk," Amos said venomously. James pretended not to hear him and curved his arm around Fiona's waist as they walked back to the Diggory's house; Lily noticed his hand occasionally traveled lower to rest on her derriere. Snorting in revulsion and wanting to get a bit of revenge, she grabbed Amos' hand and ran ahead of them and then made a huge show of kissing Amos right in front of them. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"All right Lily, your turn." 

"I told you, I'm utterly disgusted with this day and this damned vacation and I refuse to go anywhere else except in the living room to read a book!" Lily said through her bedroom door to the three girls standing outside it. 

"Lily, can I please do your makeup and everything?" Arabella wheedled. 

"Good Lord no!" Lily shouted and then reconsidered in a softer voice. "I don't want to go." 

"Oh, Lily, you're being stupid!" Sierra burst out frustrated. 

"Fine! I'll go and then I'll show you all how horrid of a night this is going to be," Lily said, opening the door and stepping out with a sour look on her face. 

"Ooh good, she's emerged!" Arabella yelped gleefully, throwing her bulging cosmetics bag onto the bed and sitting Lily down on a chair. 

"I am officially at your mercy, Miss Figg," Lily said in a surrendering voice and recoiled as Arabella fished out black liquid eyeliner. 

"Now close your eyes while I tell you all a story," Arabella said; Sabrina and Sierra settled themselves at Lily's feet. "Actually, it's just my findings: Muggle makeup products work much better than magical products because – well – Sierra, do you like chasing around your lipsticks when they're chanting in their high-pitched voices? Or when your facial cleanser calls you a pimply wench and squirts you in the face?"

Lily laughed in spite of her surly demeanor. "A pimply wench?" 

Arabella shot her a doleful look. "It's not funny!" 

"Oh, of course not," Lily said trying her best to conceal her laughter. 

"Now close your eyes so I can do this quickly," Arabella instructed and slowly Lily did as she was told. 

"And I don't have that problem – although my mirror likes to insult me a lot," Sierra said puzzled. 

"Hmm…" Arabella mused, expertly brushing a miniscule line of eyeliner onto Lily's eyes. 

"You're not going to make me look positively – skanky, are you?" Lily asked in a fearful voice. 

"Oh, gracious no, unless you want me to –" 

"NO!" Lily yelled. 

"All right, close your eyes again so I can put on the eyeshadow," Arabella said. 

This continued for a few minutes and finally, with cautious eyes, Lily looked at herself in the mirror. The results were – most pleasing. 

"Oh – wow! Bella, I – whoa…" Lily said examining herself in the mirror. 

Arabella smiled self-assuredly. "I know I'm good."   
  


"Thank you so much! I mean, I never doubted you for a second anyway," Lily said with a grin. "Er… not _much _anyway…"

"Lily, you look really wonderful – Amos will have a hard time keeping his eyes, or anything else, off you for that matter," Sierra said with a roguish wink.

"Ooh… Lily and Amos, sitting in a tree, k – i – s – s –"   
  


"Sabrina, I'm warning you – all of you!" Lily said in an angry voice, but grinning all the same. 

"All right, we'll be good… now Amos will never get to actually see you if we don't get our butts moving!" Sierra said and they grabbed their purses and their other nightly accessories. 

"Does my hair look right?" Arabella asked, touching the red hibiscus flower in her hair. 

 "It looks fine," Lily replied, "oh – gracious." 

"What?" They asked as they descended down the stairs and entered the Diggory's foyer. 

"Potter," Lily said shortly.

"What about – ooh," Sierra said with a sly smile spreading slowly on her face.

"Hey Lily," Amos said brightly, crossing the room and kissing her tenderly on the cheek. 

Lily blushed bright crimson. "Evening, Amos." 

"Would you like to be my date tonight?" He asked putting his arm around her shoulders. 

She looked at her friends with a look of helplessness on her face. They all nodded eagerly. 

"Sure…" Lily said. 

"Too much love in the room," James said pretending to be sick, wearing nothing but a white wife beater and long khaki trousers with a simple pullover navy blue polo shirt. 

"Aw what Potter? No insult?" Lily asked mockingly, although not actually wanting to be insulted. 

"No, I think your makeup and how you look is insulting enough," James said coolly. 

"What's wrong with my outfit?" Lily demanded angrily, her eyes flashing. 

"Nothing," James said. She had kept on her bathing suit and donned a green grass skirt (all of the girls had done it, except Fiona obviously) because it _was _a luau, wasn't it?

"Well I think you look like a preppy boy – like something from Beauxbatoms," Lily replied coolly. 

"I do not!" James said in protest. 

Lily smirked. "Do too – Prep Boy." 

"God! Well I think you look like something that would dance around in Professor Hughes' erotic dreams!" James retorted, trying to hide a smile at that disturbing thought. 

"EW!" They all exclaimed, not just Lily. 

"Ok, losing appetite and all I heard was 'erotic dreams'," Sierra said with a look of utter disgust on her face. 

"Leave it to Potter to make you lose your appetite – all I have to do is look at him and I lose it," Lily said scornfully. 

"Yeah and I have visions of you when I'm vomiting because I have to get it all up!" James said making a face. 

"All right!" Sirius said looking totally grossed out. "Can we not talk about vomiting?" 

"Sorry," Lily said crossly. 

"Well – I'm hungry and I've heard word they're roasting a real pig!" Sirius said, his stomach talking as he whisked Sierra out the door, her grass skirt swishing behind her. 

"I suppose we should go as well – come on, Lily," Amos said grabbing her by the elbow and dragging her like a puppy on a leash. James had already reached the door and she ran into his back, as he was waiting for Fiona to lift up her complicated layered, yet light enough to be summery, skirt. 

"Come on Potter," Lily said grumpily as he refused to move even after she'd crossed the threshold. He braced his arms against the doorframe and Lily tried to push him out of the way but it was to no avail. 

"Potter! You stupid _ass_, MOVE!" Lily yelled getting frustrated. She got too close and could smell that cologne he wore – memories drifting up to her brain she'd rather block out. 

He stepped lightly and Lily, who had all her weight forward, pitched forward. Luckily, Amos was there to catch her before she could land. 

"Thanks," Lily said breathlessly, looking up at his blue eyes. They were just blue – no flecks of gold, or even a haze-blue – just blue. Not like James' beautiful brown ones – oh bugger, she wasn't comparing them again was she?

_I hope to God you're making the right choice, Evans_, she thought. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"See, you guys? Big pig! Big pig!" Sirius yelled happily, pointing to the large golden-brown pig slowly cooking on an open spit. 

"I'll go get us some punch…?" Amos asked tentatively. 

Lily nodded, her eyes focusing hypnotically on the world. "That'd be great." 

It was the perfect night for a luau: stars brightly dotting the sky and the moon in a crescent, the perfect shape for romance. The air smelled of salt and flowers and perfumed with that summer breeze that doesn't smell like anything – you just know it smells like summer. The fire cast merry shadows along the canvas walls of the massive tent pitched for the luau and people from all ages dancing around, most in authentic luau dress. A band was at the center of the makeshift stage they had set up but there was also someone playing music when the band wasn't performing. Lily couldn't glance between the sea of people to see what band it was. 

"Fruit punch for my girl," Amos said jovially, handing her a cup shaped like the half of a carved out coconut. 

"Thank you," Lily said shyly, clinking her drink with his as an impromptu toast. 

"So –" Amos said with the breeze slightly ruffling his hair, "how's your vacation been so far?" 

Lily stared out at Fiona and James – God, how happy did she look? How _un_happy did he look? She'd thought about the first day of vacation – way back when she'd left her house and saw him sitting in the car, his legs stretched out in front of him and wearing nothing but shorts and a wife beater. He looked happy then; he looked like he enjoyed his life status so far. Her thoughts drifted farther into vacation when they'd gone surfing that day and Lily stayed out of the water – now whenever Fiona cuddled up to James, he'd almost recoil. But… recoil from what? So bringing a girlfriend when he couldn't _maintain_ a girlfriend wasn't the best idea he's ever had but – he was James. He could handle it. 

"Lils?" Amos pressed gently. 

"Oh! Sorry –" Lily said smiling apologetically, tucking a piece of loose hair behind her ear, "uh – it's been great! Well, you know – minus that whole break-in thing." 

Amos nodded in agreement. "Have you guys figured out who it was?" 

Lily bit her lip. Jaden had come to visit her in her dreams every night since the break-in, almost like an ominous cloud hanging over her. She hadn't quite figured out if she was going to tell anyone – Sierra wouldn't believe her and neither would anyone else, for that matter. "Nope. Nowhere near finding out – this person was stealthy and didn't leave a trace." 

"Bummer." 

"Yeah… but I try to think positively – at least nobody died," Lily said and her brain instantly added '_this time_.'

Silence blanketed over them and she sipped her drink slowly and pensively. She watched James and Fiona dance some more and then watched Sierra and Sirius do some crazy swing dancing. She laughed softly. Sierra and Sirius were – perfect. Not like Fiona and James where James was almost dreading spending any time with her, Sirius was for the first time in his life acting serious and not doing what Lily liked to refer to as 'serial dating.' They were so alike, yet so different – nothing seemed to annoy Sierra about Sirius and vice versa. It was the perfect relationship – and more than one time, Lily had felt jealous about that. 

The fast tempo of the last song faded into a slow ballad. She shifted her weight and placed her cup on the fake tiki bar they were leaning against.

"What do you think of Potter?" Amos asked randomly. 

Lily dropped her cup. "W – what?" 

Amos chuckled and picked up her cup for her. "What do you think of him, honestly?"   
  


"Whoa – you are definitely asking the wrong person; I'd give you the most biased report of him," Lily said laughing. 

Amos shrugged. "He seems like an O.K. chap." 

Lily twirled the cup around in her hands, admiring its craftsmanship. "Er – well, he's done some good things –" 

"But more bad things," Amos said finishing the sentence for her. 

"Right." 

"You've – dated?" 

"Sort of. It didn't work out," Lily said quietly. 

"Why not?" Amos asked. 

"Oh – just… because. Because he's bloody impossible to live with!" Lily burst out, "and I hate the fact that he thinks he can walk all over me because he thinks I have some _weakness _for him!" 

"Is that the case?" 

"N – not exactly – he's just… ugh. I don't want to talk about it," Lily said, feeling a bad mood coming on. 

"Do you want to dance?" Amos asked changing gears. 

Lily looked bewildered and choked out stupidly, "Why?" 

"Because I want to dance with you," Amos said smiling. "What? Do you have two left feet?" 

"Oh," Lily said temporarily tongue tied, "no – well, a little." 

"Don't worry, a few hard stomps on the toes do a body good – I think," he cajoled. 

She smiled and walked to the near center of the dancing couples and awkwardly wrapped her arms around his neck. This was quite a difficult feat considering she was so short and he was so tall but they managed to work it out. He circled his arms around her waist so she was right up against him – too close almost. She could smell his cologne – it smelled like cheap cologne. The smell didn't bring Lily any feelings of familiarity or security – and certainly not those butterflies and increased heart rates that even the whiff of James' scent could do to her. 

"See, you're not that bad," Amos whispered with a smile after a few moments of silence. 

"That's because we're barely moving," Lily pointed out. 

"Well you're still better," Amos reasoned. 

"Thank you," she said shyly. 

Lily looked over Amos' broad shoulder and saw Fiona and James dancing. A sharp pang of sadness and jealousy struck her like lightning. Why was she doomed to play this stupid game of love? Why was she doomed to spend the rest of her life denying what was right in front of her? And _why _was she denying it if she wanted it so badly? 
    
    _Tell me just what you want me to be_
    
    _One kiss and boom you're the only one for me_
    
    _So please tell me why don't you come around no more_
    
    _Cause right now I'm crying outside the door of your candy store_
    
    _It just takes a little bit of this_
    
    _A little bit of that_
    
    _It started with a kiss_
    
    _Now we're up to bat_
    
    _A little bit of laughs_
    
    _A little bit of pain_
    
    _I'm telling you, my babe_
    
    _It's all in the game of love_
    
    That was it: a stupid game of love. He probably wasn't even giving her a second thought about it and was just putting on an act for the rest of them to fool them all. He was probably in love with Fiona – her perfect hair, perfect attitude, and perfect body. And Lily was just his pawn, another one of his objects to toy with. She couldn't believe she'd almost fallen for him – again! 
    
    _This, whatever you make it to be_
    
    _Sunshine set on this cold lonely sea_
    
    _So please baby try and use me for what I'm good for_
    
    _It ain't sayin' goodbye that's knocking down the door of your candy store_
    
    _It just takes a little bit of this_
    
    _A little bit of that_
    
    _It started with a kiss_
    
    _Now we're up to bat_
    
    _A little bit of laughs_
    
    _A little bit of pain_
    
    _I'm telling you, my babe_
    
    _It's all in the game of love_
    
    She smirked to herself – it Potter wanted to play that game, he'd have another thing coming to him. She wasn't going to be easily hoodwinked just because he put on an act and she felt sorry for him. 
    
    _It's all in this game of love_
    
    _You roll me_
    
    _Control me_
    
    _Console me_
    
    _Please hold me_
    
    _You guide me_
    
    _Divide me_
    
    _Into what..._
    
    _Make me feel good, yeah_
    
    _So please tell me why don't you come around no more_
    
    _Cause right now I'm dying outside the door of your loving store_
    
    Looking past Fiona's cloud of blonde hair and hazy perfume, James looked over at Lily. Her head was resting on Amos' shoulder and her arms draped casually over his shoulders. He rolled his eyes at her when she caught his gaze. She immaturely stuck her tongue out at him. He looked away and looked over at the ocean and the couples walking along the beach, but he could still feel the redhead's glare burning him up inside. Stupid girl, he thought bitterly. He was stupid to think he could forget her by bringing someone he thought was better – the thought was ridiculous: _no one_ was better than her. He'd realized this way back when vacation had started and she'd nearly drowned him in the ocean. He'd said no one could compare to her and he was right, but even he could not outwit fate and avoid love when it was coming to him. And Lord knows he'd tried to forget her but – she kept popping up everywhere! Now that this Amos guy was in the picture, maybe his ridiculous maladies of love would be cured by his loss of interest. With a sinking heart, James realized that half the fun of love was the chase and getting Lily seemed to be the best prize he could receive. He inwardly sighed as the song ended and Fiona unwound herself from him and went to go get a drink.
    
    _It's all in this game of love_
    
    _It's all in the game of love_
    
    _Yeah, in the game of love_
    
    _Roll me_
    
    _Control me_
    
    _Please hold me_
    
    _(make me feel good, yeah)_

He sat down in a chair and put his head in his hands, messy strands of hair slipping through his fingers. 

Whatever was going to happen, he needed to get Amos out of the picture. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

The pig had been eaten, Sierra and Sirius had slipped off somewhere and the guests were chatting happily and contentedly at their tables. The breeze stopped blowing and it got unusually cold as the hour struck midnight. The sea was in full fury – giant waves crashing to the shore in high tide. Lily and Amos sat off in their own little world, talking animatedly. He'd watched them closely for the past hour just talking (and sometimes kissing) and couldn't push down that little green monster growing bigger inside him. 

"Something bothering you, Jamesie?" Fiona asked running her finger up and down his arm. 

"Er – what?" James asked distractedly. 

"You look depressed," Fiona said, lifting his hand up and kissing his palm. 

"Just tired," James reasoned. 

"Oh…"

He watched Lily and Amos stand up hand-in-hand and head for the beach, waves still swelling over the sand. 

"Come on, we're going for a walk," James said gruffly, grabbing the confused blonde's hand and ran off behind Lily and Amos. 

"Jamesie, this is ridiculous – stop chasing them! They're going to think you're _stalking _them," Fiona hissed. For a moment, in all the haze of his brain, he realized Fiona was right for once and wasn't acting like a complete airhead. 

"I'm not _stalking _them, Fiona; I felt like a walk on the beach," he said, hoping his little white lie wouldn't give him away in case Lily and Amos were nearby. 

"Yeah right," she said sarcastically, "you're not the greatest boyfriend ever, despite what girls say."

"And you're not the best girlfriend ever," James replied. 

"Well, ok, you can kiss pretty awesomely –" 

"Shh – I hear someone coming!" James said and shoved her into some bushes nearby. 

She let out a delighted squeal, totally oblivious to the cold feeling that suddenly seized him. He clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her sound as footsteps drew closer. His heartbeat increased in a second, thudding loudly in his ears. Through the crevices of the leaves, he could make out a dark cloak and heavy black boots. Fiona's eyes widened and remained stiff in his arms, both of them too afraid to make a move. James watched in agonizing silence as the figure moved more towards the bush. Fiona squirmed slightly as the figure got closer – panic rose inside him, his heartbeat pounding so loudly he thought the mysterious person could hear it. 

They backed up as far as they could go as the cloaked person lit a Muggle cigarette. He heard the match grate the strike plate and heard the hissing of the flame as the cigarette end was ignited. The person then threw the match carelessly into the bushes. James and Fiona both yelled out loud as the bush burst into flames; they scrambled clumsily out away from the fire. 

"RUN!" James said as the figure spotted them. 

They ran towards the party where the people were happily still chatting. Fiona and James tore through the large crowd on the dance floor, yelling to get down or to look out. The black figure was quick to catch up with them. People panicked and some men grabbed their wands, yelling curses to try and stop the shadowy figure still chasing after the two teenagers. 

It seemed like what happened was in slow motion, like you knew what was going to happen but you felt like you were moving through molasses. Flashes of light accompanied spells unknown to James and Fiona and it was pandemonium everywhere. To their horror, more cloaked figures emerged from nowhere (or so it looked) to aid the lone one among the panicked wizards. 

"Where are Lily and Amos?" James asked breathless with panic. 

"How should I know? I can barely find my pulse!" Fiona snapped. 

"What's going on in there?" James asked with a sinking heart as suspicious looking green light flashed across the whole sky. 

"Oh my God," Fiona said looking paler than death, "James – what is that thing?" 

"Holy fuck." 

A giant skull, shaped out of foggy green haze, hung in the sky with a giant serpent slithering grotesquely out of its mouth. 

"We've got to get out of here," Fiona said whimpering, trying to drag James by his sleeve. 

"I've got to get in there –" James said drawing out his wand but a piercing shriek blasted the night silent. 

"Shit – what just happened?" Fiona asked, swearing she was so nervous. 

"I have no idea," James said and without another thought, ran to the tent. 

"JAMES!" Fiona screamed shrilly. 

The black figures vanished out of sight as soon as he got down there. People were crying, screaming, running all over the place as MediWizards and other important looking Ministry figures rushed up to the scene. 

"James!" Mr. Black called weakly. James ran over to him, tripping over a fallen body. 

"Are you all right?" He asked, helping James up. 

"Holy – is he dead?" James asked shakily, feeling his dinner starting to come up. 

"I'm afraid so – where's everyone else?" Mr. Black asked worriedly. 

"F – Fiona's up there, Sierra and Sirius went off a few hours ago and Lily and Amos are on the beach," James said as the world began to spin slightly. 

"You didn't see any of them, did you?" Mr. Black asked, gripping James' arm harder. James sank against a fallen table to steady himself. 

"Me and Fiona were going out to the beach ourselves before the attack and we saw one of them so we hid in the bushes – and then he lit a Muggle cigarette and threw the match in the bushes and it caught on fire so we ran out of it and he chased us," James said all in one breath, closing his eyes to fight the nausea. 

"You look sick," Mr. Black said. 

"I'll be fine, just find the rest of them," James said wearily and sunk down to the floor practically next to the once-living Ministry member. 

"Stay there James," Mr. Black said and sprinted off. 

He waited there for about five minutes before a MediWizard came up to him and bent down to look at him. She was about thirty, with blonde hair and brown eyes. "Are you all right?" 

"Er – not really."

She smiled. "Of course not; do you think you could tell me about what happened here tonight?" 

"N – not really," James said repeating his last sentence. He tried to close his eyes but the nausea seemed to get worse. 

She brushed a bit of hair off his clammy forehead. "Hmm… you'd better come with me."   
  


"Wha – no, I swear I'm fine," James said thickly as she helped him up. He leant heavily against her and it would've been funny to see James Potter clinging to a thirty-year-old woman had the situation not been so grave. 

"I'm sure you are," the woman said with a note of teasing in her voice. 

"What's the story, Kathy?" An older man asked in a gruff voice. James looked over at the other people being helped onto MediWizard trucks, similarly modeled to look like Muggle ambulances. 

"This young man has your story but he's ill, I'll take him to the hospital with the rest of them," she said firmly and helped him on the truck. 

"What about my friends?" James asked as the world became increasingly darker. His eyelids drooped and he was unconscious before she could utter two words. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Oh good Lord, he's alive!" Arabella said happily, waking James up from sleep that felt like he'd been sleeping for five years. His eyes remained closed but he could hear his friend's footsteps coming into the room. 

"James Potter, I swear to God, I'm going to –" Lily said in a tearful voice, " – kiss you for being O.K.!" 

They all laughed. James groggily opened one eye and saw Lily, Arabella and Amos standing near his bed. 

"Can you speak?" Amos asked dumbly, also looking astonishingly glad to see him. 

"Er –" James said and coughed, "yeah." 

"Holy hell, Potter, you scared the shit out of us!" Lily said throwing her arms around his neck. 

"Ouch!" James said and Lily quickly regained her composure before she totally broke down. 

"I'm sorry – we were just all afraid you were… you know, _dead_," Lily said quietly, tears brimming in her eyes. 

"It's O.K. Lils," Amos said putting his arms around her. 

"I'm really fine – where's Sirius and Sierra and Mr. Black?" James asked trying to sit up. 

"Sit down Mr. Potter," a doctor said coming into the room, "you're supposed to be resting." 

"I'm sorry sir – have you seen or heard from Mr. Black or Arabella Figg or Sierra Lethesine or my girlfriend?" James asked. 

"They're all fine, I assure you. If you feel rested enough, there's a news reporter who wants to talk to you about the night's – events," he said nonchalantly. 

"All right," James said apprehensively and Kathy, the supposed MediWizard, came in dressed sharply for an interview with a teenager. 

"James Potter, I'm Kathy Sanger," she said and extended her hand out for a curt handshake. 

"How did you know my name?" James asked.

"This young man gave it to me," she said indicating Amos, who gave James a dirty smirk, "now, I'd like to ask you a few questions." 

"Well, I'm prepared to answer a few questions," James said evenly, casting an icy glare at Amos. 

"What happened earlier tonight, could you give me almost exact details?" She asked, getting out a quill and paper. 

"I can try," James said honestly, "all right – me and my girlfriend, Fiona –" 

"Last name?" 

"Blossom," he replied. 

"Continue." 

"We decided to go for a walk on the beach," James said, lying, "and then suddenly this black figure walked up towards us so I pushed the both of us into a nearby bush."   
  


"Ah… interesting," Kathy said scribbling that down. 

"Yeah – so we were both pretty freaked because we didn't know who this person was and then this person lights a Muggle cigarette, I haven't a clue why –"

"Maybe he's addicted," Kathy said helpfully. 

"It's a he?" Lily asked puzzled. 

"Well, we're assuming," Kathy said. 

"Or maybe he didn't light it – did you see him take a puff?" Arabella asked, shedding light on a new possibility. 

"Er… no," James admitted. 

"But why wouldn't he have lit it if he wasn't intending on smoking it?" Amos asked even more perplexed than Lily. 

"Maybe he saw you two dive into the bushes and he pretended to light a cigarette so he could light the bush on fire and not get blamed for it because he claimed he was lighting a cigarette… he'd probably get away with it," Lily said.

"Are you saying that this was a plot to kill them?" Arabella asked with wide eyes. 

"That's preposterous! Nobody would just light a bush on fire and kill two people for no reason," Amos said reasonably. 

"You're right – but still, we don't know if any of this is true anyway," James said, shaken up by the prospect of almost being murdered. 

"It's all right James, no further questions," Kathy said patting him sympathetically on the shoulder and walked out of the room.

"You don't think someone was trying to kill you, do you James?" Lily asked in a tiny, doubtful voice. 

"I don't think we can rule that out until we see some solid evidence, Lils," Amos said. 

"Did anyone see that big green skull thing in the sky?" Arabella asked in a shaky voice. 

"I did," James said shuddering. 

"I did too!" Lily said, "I know I've seen that relic somewhere before." 

"It wasn't a relic Lily, it's a sign from those weird people," Amos said. 

"Well whatever it is, it really gave me the creeps," Arabella said. 

"Er – it's been fun Potter, but I'm going back to my room," Lily said. "I need to sleep off some of this excitement." 

"Same here," Amos and Arabella chorused, giving James a small wave and then too heading out the door. 

Kathy came whizzing back through the door, holding onto Lily's arm and dragging a confused Lily back into the room. "Mr. Potter – you've got to follow us."   
  


"Why?" James asked. 

"Because Professor Dumbledore has come all the way from Hogwarts to see the prisoner from the attacks tonight and he wants to speak to you as well," Kathy said breathlessly and helped a protesting James out of bed. 

"Follow me," Kathy continued, leading Lily and James down the hallway and into a doctor's office where a gagged man dressed all in black with greasy black hair. Two wizards, serving as guards, stood on either side of him.

"Ah, Mr. Potter and Miss Evans. I trust you're having a good summer," Dumbledore said. 

"Er – you could say that," James said sitting down in a chair next to Lily. 

"This is Macnair, one of the hooded men who attacked the Ministry party," Dumbledore said severely. 

"I – uh – very pleased to meet you," Lily said dryly. 

"Why don't you tell us exactly what happened, Macnair, and maybe your punishment won't be as severe," Dumbledore said sternly. 

"Uh – quick question: Professor, why are you here?" Lily asked, "n – not to undermine your authority or anything –" 

"An excellent question to ask, Miss Evans," Dumbledore said with a slight smile, "you see: I have been tracking these people since last year, when activity of this group built up after Misty's death." 

"After Misty's death? Did she have something to do with them?" James asked, nothing making sense so far.

"An extraordinary amount to do with them," Dumbledore said, "and you and Miss Evans as well."

"I didn't have anything to do with that girl!" Macnair said gruffly. 

"Shut up," one wizard/guard said, kicking him in the shin. 

"Tell me, what do you call yourselves?" Dumbledore asked coolly, his light blue eyes filled with coldness. 

"Death Eaters," Macnair said coolly. 

Harsh realization hit Lily like a sack of flour. Of course, the Death Eaters! The one's who'd burned Sierra's house and… might have killed Misty.

"YOU'RE A DEATH EATER!" she screeched and jumped up, "WHAT'D YOU DO TO MISTY? WHAT'D YOU DO TO HER, YOU SORRY BASTARD?"

James' eyes widened and watched as she jumped on Macnair and punched him square in the face, yelling and swearing at him. "Lily! Get off him, you're going to kill him!" 

"Well, that'd be an interesting table-turner, wouldn't it James? He already killed my best friend!" Lily shrieked, getting hysterical. Dumbledore watched the situation with calm regard and the wizards tried to pry Lily off Macnair. 

"Lily, hush, it's fine," James said putting his hands around her waist and prying her off Macnair, who had a bloody nose and lip and was smiling in a rather disturbing manner. 

"It's _not_ fine, dammit! He _killed _my friend!" Lily said tearfully. "He _killed_ her, James." 

"Shh," James said, feeling a tad ridiculous rocking her in his lap while she cried like an infant and he was the mother. 

"They're all bastards, they all deserve to die," Lily said quietly, tears soaking his shirt. 

"Miss Evans, please do contain yourself," Dumbledore said finally. "He's the only prisoner we've got." 

"I told you, I didn't have anything to do with the murder of that girl," Macnair said sourly. 

"You're in enough trouble as it is and we haven't proved that you aren't involved somehow," Dumbledore said. "Now tell us what you have to do with them." 

"With who?" 

"The Death Eaters."

Silence fell over the room, only broken by Lily's quiet sobs. Macnair stared off into the distance, like he was recalling some fond memory. 

"I met my leader, Lord Voldemort –" 

"Oh, he has a name?" Dumbledore said with mild interest. 

"Lord Voldemort has the greatest name of all," Macnair said with his twisted smile again. 

"Continue," Dumbledore said, not wanting to get off topic discussing Voldemort's 'great name.' 

"I met him when I was merely twenty years old, barely out of Hogwarts," Macnair said. 

"Ah yes, I remember you quite well, Macnair," Dumbledore said with a wry smile, "too weak to survive on your own."   
  


"Quite true, Dumbledore, now I've got my Master to provide for me." 

"Your Master is a sick bastard who enjoys killing people!" Lily said from her curled up position on James' lap. 

"Now that Miss Evans has gotten that out, I'm quite curious to know myself: what possessed you to join this group of people?"   
  


"You said it yourself, Dumbledore: I was weak. But then I found my Master and he has said he will provide for me – if I do something for him in return," Macnair said with the same eerie smile that was beginning to become a little obnoxious. 

"Which would be what?" James asked. 

"That I bring him those who have refused him," Macnair said with a cackling laugh. 

Everyone in that room, minus the maniacally laughing Macnair, felt a twinge of fear go down their spine. Was this real? Was it true – could Voldemort really kill people who refused him or was this some hoax?

"Y – you're crazy!" Lily choked out.   
  


"Take him away, there are no further questions," Dumbledore said, wearily waving his hand at the guards.

"Professor, I'm sorry but that man is crazy! Why didn't you just kill him right there?" James asked incredulously. 

"Mr. Potter, I would appreciate it if you and Miss Evans left," Dumbledore said tiredly and pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"But –" 

"Leave now," Dumbledore said more sternly. 

"Come on, Lily," James said gruffly. She sniffled and got up and followed him out of the room. 

"What was up with him?" James said angrily when they had left the earshot of the old man. "He won't even tell us why he didn't blast that bastard to smithereens!" 

"He gave us valuable information," Lily said shrugging. 

"Lily, he didn't tell us _anything_!" James exclaimed. 

"He told us how Voldemort rewards his followers," Lily said in the same sad, uncaring tone. 

"Yeah but he didn't tell us who killed those Ministry people," James said and felt like his brain was going to start smoking from all the confusing new facts surfacing. 

"James, have you ever thought about the fact that it's more important to know how he works so we can prevent deaths rather than focusing on things in the past?" Lily asked hotly. 

"Then why did you go psycho when you found out he was a Death Eater?" James asked with a very faint smirk. 

Lily looked at him with tears in her eyes, again. "I don't expect you'd understand, James. You've never had to deal with the death of your best friend."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**Err… I think I'll stop there. I was going to make it longer but then I realized – hey! Chapter 35 is at 23 pages! I'm so good =) R/R! **


	36. Jelly and Flour

_A/n; _June 23rd (had to write the original date of it, I didn't just read OotP): **Ok, well I don't know if any of you have finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but I might have to change some things. But that's ok, nothing major! So anyway, er… did anyone else cry a lot? I still haven't gotten over the initial shock and I'm like 'hey he's still living – oh wait, no he's not.' Very tragic stuff – why couldn't Hagrid have died? I'm sorry if you like Hagrid but he's not one of my… favorite characters. Sure I love him but… you know I would've preferred if he died. Anyway, enough blabbing, tell me your thoughts on Order of Phoenix! I thought it was spectacular – although there was absolute ZILCH H/H. **

**And I promise I'll be killing off characters. Not to sound… mean or anything but I honestly cannot keep up with the amount of characters I've created for seemingly no purpose. You'll have to forgive me as I sort of… add in Sabrina to this chapter. She's been somewhat neglected during the whole story. **

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Fiona, you can't leave!" James pleaded, nearly latching himself onto her shapely legs. He was making a spectacle of himself on the Black's driveway. Fiona didn't seem to be paying any attention to her whimpering boyfriend. 

"James, do you think I'm going to stick around for more people to _die_?" Fiona asked sharply, tossing her trunk into the back of the Black's car. "And maybe even myself?"

"Mr. Black might not be well enough to drive you home," James said flatly. 

"You're not even sad that I'm leaving!" Fiona shouted accusingly, flipping her blonde hair out of her face. 

"Am so!" James lied. 

She pursed her lips and stared at him for a second. "Sure you are." 

Lily and Sierra came outside, wondering what the noise was. Sirius, Amos, Sabrina and Arabella were inside not doing anything in particular. 

"What's going on?" Lily demanded, and then spotted Fiona. "Ooh… girlfriend leaving you, Potter? Well, don't feel bad it won't be the last one –" 

"Shut up, she's not leaving because of me," James said stiffly. 

"Well yes, that and I'm totally freaked out by all the deaths and attacks and – I need my beauty rest! My hair's going to start falling out," Fiona said matter-of-factly. 

"Is that so?" Sierra said in a mockingly horrified tone. 

"What a shame," Lily added unremorsefully. 

"But Fiona, you can't leave me!" said James pitifully, desperately trying to keep her with them.

"Why not?" Fiona asked with her eyes flashing. "If I had more sense, I'd have left a very long time ago – wouldn't want to interfere with your chances with Evans!" 

Lily's jaw dropped. "Oh! That is just – sick! Ok, for one thing Potter has _no_ chances with me and I don't want to even – _think_ about that!" 

Sierra just simply raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think Potter wants to 'have a chance' with Lily?" 

"Isn't it obvious? He's been chasing after her _all summer_!" Fiona shrilled, jabbing a finger in James' chest. 

Lily looked ill, Sierra looked thoughtful and James looked outraged. 

"Well…" Lily said massaging her right temple with her right finger. 

"Er – have not!" James protested feebly. 

"Where's Mr. Black?" Fiona asked, ignoring James' protests. 

"Inside somewhere--he said he had to owl his wife about something," Lily said, "does he even know that he's taking you home?"

"Yes," Fiona sniffed. 

"Well I'll help you get your things in the car," James said like a defeated man and lifted one of her three suitcases into the trunk of the Black's car. 

"Thank you, Jamesie," Fiona said affectionately. She forgot her anger long enough to give him a peck on the cheek. 

Lily rolled her eyes and started back for the house with Sierra on her heels. Mr. Black met up with her halfway with a harried expression on his face. He talked to the two girls for a minute before running back inside. Since the latest attack, everyone had been a bit jumpy and apprehensive. Lily had been awakened that morning, and every other morning that week, to the sound of people Apparating and the sound of whistling wind past her window as brooms flew past. 

Lily and Sierra suddenly turned around and walked back towards the car. 

"Well, looks like we'd all better grab our stuff – we're leaving!" Lily said cheerfully and then turned to Fiona. "And we're taking you home, as promised."

"Where're we going to go?" James asked curiously.

"Apparently to _your _house, Potter," Lily said smugly. 

"My house?" James questioned, confused. 

Lily nodded. "Apparently your house is the safest – nobody wants to kill a Quidditch player." 

"That would make sense," James said after a moment of though. "Are you still going to stay with us Fiona?" 

"Er – no thanks," Fiona smiled politely, dusting off imaginary lint on her spotless pink cardigan. 

"Isn't it a bit hot for that?" Lily asked, who was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved blue shirt. 

"Never too hot to wear designer!" Fiona said in a bubbly voice, pointing to her white high waters and matching pink tank top and cardigan. 

"I suppose that's true," Lily said thoughtfully. 

"You women and your clothes," James said with a roll of his eyes. 

Lily wanted to point out to him that she would never swap fashion tips with an air headed bimbo like Fiona but she held her tongue. 

"I'm going to go pack up my things then, if we're to leave," she said instead, and then turned around to give James a cheeky grin. "And of course, I'll let you two say your goodbyes." 

"Thanks Evans," James said through gritted teeth. 

"Welcome!" She replied brightly and skippedinto the house. Sabrina and Arabella were finishing up their breakfast of homemade pancakes and powdered sugar. Arabella looked like a snowman whose face had melted all off, save for her mouth. 

"We're going to Potter's house for the rest of the summer so we'd better start packing up – Mr. Black said he wanted to leave by midday," Lily called over her shoulder as she ran up the stairs. 

She approached the door of the girl's room and heard shuffling around in it, occasionally a giggle. 

Frowning, she rapped on the door. "Sierra?"  ****

"Be there in a second Lily," Sierra called distractedly from the other side. 

Lily heard mumbling and then a laugh and then a weird sort of silence. Someone, as apparently there was another person in the room, opened the door slowly. 

"Yes, well, it's lovely you've got a guy in the room – hello Sirius – but we've got to get packing because we're leaving by midday," Lily said smiling despite of how discomfited Sierra looked. 

"Really? Well then! I'll leave you two wonderful ladies to do just that," Sirius said winking at Sierra and bowing low with a grin. 

"Bye Siri," Sierra said sheepishly and wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand. 

"So sorry you had to see that Lily m'dear," Sirius said kissing her hand. 

"Er…" Lily said rolling her eyes. Sirius galloped down the stairs, singing loudly as though nothing had happened. 

"Sierra, Sierra, Sierra," Lily shook her head.

"What?" Sierra asked feigning innocence. ****

"Did you honestly think you wouldn't get caught?" Lily asked with a small smile. 

Sierra sat down on her bed; the covers were mussed and it wasn't just because she hadn't made her bed that morning. "Well, no but –"

Lily grinned. "Oh, stop it. Don't feel sorry." 

Forgetting her embarrassment, Sierra regarded her with a confused look. "What're you talking about?"  

"I mean – don't… think that you have to be sorry for what just happened. It happens, you know?" she replied.  

"I… am still lost," Sierra admitted. 

Lily sighed and sat down next to Sierra. She smoothed out the wrinkles in the covers and tried to explain where she was coming from. "I know how much you like –_ love_, Sirius, and I just want… you to be happy. So don't apologize for the things you know in your heart is right." 

Sierra gave Lily a watery smile and hugged her friend. "That is so sweet Lily. And you know it's so hard for people to understand that – thank you." 

"What are friends for?" Lily returned her friend's smile, "just make sure you tie something to the door next time." 

Sierra let out a shaky laugh. "No problem." 

Sierra sighed, raking a hand through her long black hair. "Sometimes I think Sirius is the only one that understands what I'm going through – he's much more than a boyfriend… I – I know this is going to sound ridiculous but I really think he's my soul mate." 

Lily smiled a sappy smile that only girls smiled when they talked about this subject. "Really?"

"Really. And I know that sounds –"

"No. It doesn't sound ridiculous – it sounds perfectly wonderful. I hate to admit this, but sometimes I just feel like I'll never be able to find someone, even though we're so young, like you've found Sirius," Lily admitted. 

Sierra smiled feebly. "You've got Potter." 

"Please don't start that," Lily said bitterly. 

"Why can't I? You've still got this year and then 6th and 7th year to change your mind," Sierra reminded her. 

"I'm not going to," Lily said confidently. Getting antsy (this topic usually did this to her), she got up and dragged out her suitcase. She began to throw various items into it, wishing she could change the topic. 

"If you'd just stop fighting it –" 

"I'm not fighting anything! I don't know what shred of hope you are all clinging to that makes you believe there's anything between me and Potter!" Lily said angrily. 

"You cannot deny the chemistry Lily," Sierra said calmly despite Lily's heated outburst. 

"I can damn well try to," Lily said savagely. 

"Whatever you say," Sierra said and she too began to pack. The room was silent until Lily snapped her trunk and suitcases shut, finished. She checked her watch and sighed impatiently. She wished they would leave already – Potter's house was bigger and Fiona would be out of their hair. 

"I'm going down for lunch, are you coming?" Sierra asked tentatively. 

"Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you –" 

"Don't apologize, Lily; maybe we really _are_ having false hopes – I'd just hate for you two to hate each other when the rest of us are all friends," Sierra said, dismissing Lily's excuse before she had a chance to get it out. 

"I can handle it – I've done a decent job of it so far, haven't I?" Lily said. 

"You're a marvelous actress," Sierra admitted. 

"And I'll remind you not to try anything funny," Lily said warningly. 

"Whatever do you mean?" Sierra asked innocently. 

"You know what I mean – locking us in broom closets, tricking us into playing truth-or-dare, forcing us under mistletoe at Christmas," Lily said naming off the most obvious ones. 

"Aw damn, there goes the year's plans!" Sierra laughed. 

"That's not even funny," Lily informed her.

"Just joking – but I'm not promising we won't try a bit of mischief," Sierra said with a wink and closed the door.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

It was early in the morning, around 5 A.M., when the Mr. Black decided was a better time to leave than midday. Lily, however, was a bundle of nerves, as the first day at her new term at Hogwarts was fast approaching. She was still avoiding James as much as possible; it'd been hard the last day because he and Fiona always seemed to be trying to make up for lost kissing time--they were always discovered in linen or clothes closets. She was almost sad to see Fiona leave; she certainly kept James occupied. And yet Lily had this inexplicable feeling of joy knowing Fiona would be gone within a day and things would be back to normal. At least as normal as normal could get around James and Sirius. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Having a restless night, she finally stopped tossing off her covers and rolling around to look at the clock and climbed out of bed. She checked the clock one last time; it read 4:30. It was still dark and could faintly see the white surf through the fluttering curtains. She silently tiptoed down the stairs and sat at a stool on the counter, her elbows rested on the polished surface and leaned her chin on her fists. She concentrated on the silence of the house and her thoughts slowly drifted to her family. She'd been thinking more about them than she ever had. Not that she missed them or anything… well, she missed her mother. Once Candicemarried her stepfather, she'd gotten distant. Like she was a puppet for him – which Lily wouldn't put past him. 

Footsteps interrupted her train of thought and before she knew it, a sleepy-eyed James Potter ambled into the kitchen. He looked like he was having a hard time identifying who it was that was sitting at his kitchen counter; he was without his trademark glasses. He wore a plain white cotton shirt and faded plaid boxers – Lily couldn't help think he looked adorable all bleary-eyed with his hair sticking up more than usual. Then suddenly she got a hold on herself and mentally slapped herself. 

_Wonderful_, she thought bitterly and turned around to face him. 

"What the hell are you doing up now?" James asked in a foggy voice. 

"Why does it concern you?" Lily replied sharply. 

"I heard someone shuffling around – thought it was a mouse. Turns out I was right," James replied with astounding wit at that time of morning.

"Just go back to bed – I need some time to myself," Lily said, turning around again and trying to ignore the barb.

A few seconds passed and she could still sense his presence. To her utmost displeasure, he sat down next to her. 

"Do you _want _bodily harm done to you?" Lily asked dryly. 

"I'm just sitting here thinking too," James said. ****

"Don't make me get physical, Potter."

"That'd be something I'd look forward to," James said sardonically. 

"What? Fiona not doing her job?" Lily spat. 

"You know, what is your deal? You've done nothing but degrade me at every chance you've gotten this whole summer – Fiona's a nice girl!" James exploded heatedly. 

"What's _my _deal? What's _yours_? _You're _the one who's always in _my _face! I'm just trying to counter yourridiculously rude remarks about me!" she hissed angrily, hoping the row wouldn't turn worse. 

"I do not!" James said indignantly. 

"Oh no," Lily said with a sarcastic laugh, "I suppose you just hex me and insult me all the time because it's your way of being nice." 

"Well, compared to what I do to Snivelly, I treat you like a Queen," James pointed out.

"This is true," Lily mused with a small smile, her temper cooling somewhat.

"So… what's the deal between you and Amos?" James asked casually, trying not to let anything show through his façade of coolness. He continually tried to block the images of Lily and Amos dancing and looking like the happiest couple in the world; it made him ill. 

"Amos? Oh, nothing. He's a nice guybut… far too boring," Lily said with a little wave of her hand. She hoped he didn't notice the split second of nervousness that flitted across her face. ****

"Mm. He looks like he's a good dancer," James commented neutrally.

"Wonderful dancer," Lily said evenly. She wondered what ploy he was trying to pull her into. 

"You two are cute together," James said, practically choking on his words. 

"Mm. He's too old," Lily mused, "but I suppose he is cute." 

She almost laughed at the face James was pulling. Like he was trying not to say something he'd regret. 

"What happens next, Mr. Potter? Between you and Fiona, I mean," she inquired innocently. 

"Oh. Well, we're basically over – she's going home today and then… next victim," James said just as coolly as Lily had discussed Amos.

"You're not going to chase after her in true romantic hero fashion?" Lily inquired, knowing perfectly well James wasn't the knight in shining armor type.

"Nope. Saving my strength for someone worth chasing," James said. 

"I suppose that's logical."

"Yeah, it is. Because I figure I won't meet the girl of my dreams, or whatever it is that I'm looking for, at Hogwarts," James admitted a bit sadly. 

His saddened words plucked a chord in her heart, twanging bitterly. Did this mean he was over her? Did this mean that _she _was over _him_? Her heart plummeted – his words about not finding love at Hogwarts scared her. Maybe she wanted him to find her – maybe someday she'd let him find her. 

"I'm sure there's someone out there for you – if it's not Fiona, then certainly someone else. You can't have dated everyone at Hogwarts already!" Lily said lightheartedly, or at least attempting to sound lighthearted.

James smiled a little. "You forgot yourself." 

"What?" 

"Well, if it's not Fiona and it's not you, then I suppose there _is _someone out there," James said with a shrug. 

"Why rule me out so soon, Potter?" Lily asked with a wink. 

Before James could pick up his jaw off the floor, she hopped off the stool and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for listening to me." 

James could only nod mutely. _Did Evans just say what I thought she said_?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Dad? Mom? Vanessa? Orion?" James called, opening the door. His parents and his siblings were nowhere in sight when the whole troupe of people from the Black's house showed up at the Potter's front door. Minus Fiona, of course--she'd left without even a tear. Though Sirius practically had to insert himself between the two to break them apart from their goodbye kiss. 

"Jamesie!" Vanessa cooed. She appeared suddenly at the top of the flight of stairs and then rushed down to greet them, dressed in her work robes and wore a bored expression. It transformed into a wide smile when she saw her little brother standing in the doorway. She swept him up in her arms and planted a big, mushy affectionate kiss on his cheek.****

"Agh!" James said, disgusted and wiping his cheek furiously. Lily had to hold back a snigger – she knew she'd like his sister; though she didn't know Vanessa at all they seemed to have the same sense of humor. 

Sirius, never being one to beat around the bush or be polite, snickered loudly. 

"Where are mom and dad?" James asked, swatting his sister away. 

"They're outside."

"And Orion?" James inquired, almost hesitantly. You would have to be completely thick not to know James disliked Orion. 

"Who? Oh yes, I seem to recall him – Orion, did you say his name was? That brother of ours – seems to think working at the Ministry is more important than ever coming home to eat or sleep," Vanessa said shaking her head. 

"That bad?" James said, "perfectly predictable. Didn't he get asked to play for Puddlemere?" 

"Of course, being Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and all. But no, he got an offering as assistant to the Minister himself and found it far more interesting," Vanessa replied. 

"I see. Well, you'll have to excuse me – I've got hungry friends and in desperate need of a good night's sleep," James said airily, "and tell mom and dad I'm here."

"Can do, brother dearest. Glad you're home," Vanessa said cheerily. 

James rolled his eyes. Vanessa was still as obnoxious as ever and halfway up the stairs, he heard her grab Sirius into a tackle and smother him in kisses like he was her brother as well.

"SIRIUS! My Lord, you've certainly beefed up since you were that scrawny 11-year-old way back when!" Vanessa said teasingly, "I'm sure you're _very _popular with the ladies at Hogwarts!" 

"And you're still the same… old… Vanessa," Sirius gasped out of her bear hug, trying to wriggle out of her grasp. 

She cackled and let him go. He ran up the stairs past James and nearly barricaded himself in James' room. "Your sister still scares me, mate."

"She still scares the lot of us," James replied. Lily smiled to herself and wished she had an annoyingly loving sister like James had. Instead she had bratty old Petunia who was probably just waiting for her to show up on their front porch so she could finish properly beating Lily up. Vanessa seemed to be the same age as Petunia, around 19 or 20. 

"Here Lily, you can stay in the usual room," James said, indicating the lavender room she'd roomed almost three years ago. 

Sierra dropped her suitcase and stopped to admire Lily's room. "Wow, Lily. That's a nice room," she dropped her voice, "of course James gives it to you."

Lily whacked her friend in the arm. 

"And Arabella can have the same room as before," James continued, "and if Sierra wouldn't mind, she can bunk in my sister's room. She'll never be home anyway."

Sierra shrugged. "As long as my room is as nice as Lily's, I'll be fine."

"Or you can just bunk with Sirius," Sabrina said with a wink. 

Sierra blushed bright pink. "If James doesn't mind."

James rolled his eyes. "Try and keep your hormones in check, you two."

Sirius, also a decidedly pinker shade, mimicked an X over his heart. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

"I hope you do die, you've made me a laughingstock!" Sierra cried in mock distress, smacking him upside the head.

"Alas Sierra, your loveliness is envied by everyone and words simply cannot encapsulate how your beauty has captured my heart!" Sirius proclaimed with grandeur and kneeled on one knee and kissed her hand in true chivalrous fashion. 

"You'd better run, Black," Sierra said with a wicked smile on her face. 

Gone was the impish smile from Sirius' face as he bolted for the stairwell. Sierra, hot on his heels, chased him down the stairs and startled one of the maids who worked in the Potter's household and upset a freshly laundered load of sheets. The maid, obviously very disgruntled, yelled a few unsavory words at the giddy teenagers sprinting towards the door. 

The people upstairs laughed uproariously. 

"Well, I'm off to unpack – are you two coming?" Lily asked pointedly. 

Sabrina and Arabella exchanged looks. "Er –"

"I said _are you two coming_?" Lily asked through gritted teeth. 

"Of course!" Sabrina said with a forced laugh. "Excuse us, James."

"I understand," James said with a smile. 

"I envy them so much," Sabrina said with a sigh, sitting on Lily's bed once they were alone in the room. 

"Oh, Sierra and Sirius? Me too," Arabella said, still thinking they were talking about Lily and James.****

"I don't," Lily lied. Of course she envied them! Sierra had everything a typical man was looking for in a girl: beauty, femininity, humor, intelligence and a sense of humor. And Sirius was the perfect guy, but everyone knew that already. Lily wasn't sure what it was about her that made her seem like a repellent for boys. She ticked off the first noticeable ones in her head: pale skin, too many freckles, huge green eyes, and her horrible carroty-red hair. Not to mention she was short and far too spiteful for her own good. Most boys, if she'd let them get close enough, were terrified of her spitfire attitude. And even if they didn't get that close, they'd heard stories of her and Potter. 

"You're not jealous? How can you not be?" Sabrina asked incredulously. Then it dawned on her. "Oh, of course, you've got the same thing they have with Potter."

"DO NOT!" Lily said loudly. "And I've already had this conversation with Sierra so don't try and talk to me about it."

"Oh? So he's been on your mind all summer? And you came to Sierra with your woeful boy problems?" Arabella asked mischievously. 

"He has not," Lily said in a wavering voice, "and I do not have boy problems. And I had Amos this summer, so Potter was the farthest thing from my mind."

"Amos is also a very dull boy," Sabrina said picking at her nail polish. 

"How do you know?" Lily asked defensively, "We had very interesting conversations."

"I can tell by his looks; very dull," Sabrina said examining her handiwork on her nails. 

"I think he's quite attractive," Arabella said helpfully. 

"Thank you!" Lily said, relieved, "at least one of us thinks sensibly. I think he's quite nice and an overall gentleman – more so than Potter." 

"You're not even giving him a chance! You've never given him a chance," Sabrina pointed out. 

"I have so! What about that whole drama this Christmas?" Lily protested. 

"Oh, you mean you throwing yourself at him for some sympathy?" Sabrina said icily. 

Lily narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?" 

"She didn't _throw herself_ at him, Sab," Arabella said. ****

"Lily, I'd hardly call that making an attempt to reconcile with him. It was just a messy snog or two – and it was around the holidays. Everyone gets caught up in the cozy atmosphere, even someone so dead-set against someone like Potter," Sabrina said in the same cold voice. 

"Sabrina, Misty _died_," Lily said with an obvious shake in her voice, "James was just being helpful – it's a Gryffindor's duty."

"Whatever you want to call it, it was a pathetic cry for attention that you couldn't get any other way from him," Sabrina said. 

"What are you saying? Are you saying that I used Misty's death as a way to fling myself at him?" Lily was so irate she could feel her vision going red. 

"That's such a low thing to say Sabrina!" Arabella said, tightening her hands into fists. 

"It's the truth," Sabrina said coolly and marched towards the door. 

Arabella moved swiftly towards Sabrina but Lily held out her arm to stop her friend. 

"I knew it was trouble bringing you with us," Arabella spat. "You've got no right talking trash about Lily; she didn't even do anything to you!"

"She stole Amos away from me," Sabrina said quietly. 

The room was silent for a moment, an incredulous, second-long second that seemed to last an eternity. 

"Stole him." Arabella's jaw nearly grazed the ground. 

"I didn't do anything of the sort!" Lily protested. "This is ridiculous. He obviously likes me and –" 

"He liked me first!" Sabrina shouted, losing her cool. "But then you had to come flouncing through here like you own the damn place and whisk him off!" 

"Well you can have him! I hope you have a happy life together!" Lily said spat,almost in tears. 

Sabrina left the room and slammed the door, causing a picture frame hanging on the wall to fall and shatter. 

"Oh, here. Let me get that," Arabella said and moved to pick it up. 

Lily sat down on the bed, taking deep breaths. "You don't have to clean it up, I'll get it later."

"It's all right, it's only a few pieces of glass," Arabella said, throwing them in the trash bin. 

"Do you think I stole Amos away from Sabrina?" Lily asked in a tiny voice. 

Arabella scoffed. "First of all, Sabrina and Amos were never ever like that. He never even laid eyes on her as far as I know. And second of all, you didn't steal him from her because he was obviously taken with you and not her. And she's just jealous anyway!" 

Lily smiled weakly. "And you don't think I threw myself at Potter?"

"You don't need to throw yourself at him – he notices you just fine." 

"Thanks Arabella," Lily said sniffling. "You know, ever since Misty died, Sabrina hasn't been the same." 

"I know," Arabella said methodically, "probably because they were attached at the hip when they came to Hogwarts."

"Then she started staying out late and ignoring us," Lily added. 

Arabella nodded. "I think the girl is trouble."

"I'm beginning to think you're right," Lily said with a nod. 

"I just hope for her sake that she doesn't do anything that lands her in deep trouble," Arabella said. 

"I hope she's smarter than that," Lily said.

And for the first time in a long time, she let that comment about James noticing her slide without some denial. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Settling into James' house was easier than she imagined. It was quite unnerving for her to feel so at home at his home. ****

About a week before school was to start, a most peculiar thing happened. It all started with an early start and a quick breakfast before everyone rushed upstairs to get dressed and play around in the balmy summer weather. Sabrina and Lily weren't talking anymore; the whole house (save for the adults) seemed to have picked up what was going on. Obviously – Lily wouldn't even ask Sabrina to pass the salt; she'd just get up and get it herself. The house seemed to be divided, the group against Sabrina. Which wasn't very fair but then again Sabrina did say some pretty mean things to Lily. But this was but a trivial matter, a mere fly in the soup, compared to the hurricane of a shocker that was to happen that summer. 

"So Lils, what's up with dear Amos and you?" Sirius asked, lounging around on an inflatable inner tube in the Potter's pool. There was barely a breeze and yet the girls refused to jump in the water. Of course, Sabrina avoided everyone else and didn't accompany the rest of the group out to the pool. She was probably busy trying to conjure up an escape away from the Potter's house before the school term started. Lily took a long sip of her iced tea and adjusted her tinted heart-shaped sunglasses before replying. 

"'Dear Amos' has not really replied to the owls I've been sending him," Lily fibbed. She fiddled with the drawstring on her revoltingly raunchy black bathing suit Sierra had talked her into buying at Madame Smutte's. It wasn't that big of a lie – Sabrina would always shoot daggers at her whenever she knew Lily was writing to Amos; when she wasn't looking, Lily would rip up the letter she'd written into tiny pieces and fling them out the window. Her hopes had sunk of them getting closer, dreading that he wouldn't even remember her name once they got back to Hogwarts. ****

"Oh well, just another casual summer fling," Arabella said cheerily. 

"Yeah…" Lily replied half-heartedly. She was torn: sometimes she felt like he wasn't quite the person she'd like to date (but then again, what kind of person was that? She'd never really dated anyway), but lately she found she missed him. He always made her smile and the conversation never ran dry between the two. 

"Aw. Cheer up Lils, there's always James!" Sirius chirped brightly, after Lily had slowly drifted off into her thoughts. He sounded serious; at least he gave the _illusion_ he was totally serious. 

"Whoopee," Lily said darkly, snapping back from her reverie. Arabella shifted onto her stomach to let her back tan for a while and then grabbed a magazine from the stack Vanessa had brought out. Sierra was out cold, her blue bikini contrasting nicely with the new tan she was working on. She'd borrowed Lily's earplugs and was slathered up in tanning oil. She smelled strongly of coconut. 

James emerged just after this brief exchange of words, looking absolutely smashing in black swim trunks and skin tanned to perfection. Sure he'd looked a bit paler during the school year, but his tanned skin came back within a few days of being out in the sun. And oh, how Lily hated him for this. And she hated him even more for being the blossoming sex God he was. 

Draining her glass and about to go inside to refill it, she stood up and threw off the towel she'd had wrapped around her waist. James made no move towards her as he passed her but smiled in a devilish way. She couldn't help but wonder what he was up to. ****

"Hey Potter, where's the – AUGH!" 

James had grabbed a hold of her waist and flung her into the pool within a matter of seconds. Fortunately, it was the shallow end, only around four feet deep. Arabella turned around quickly, laughing and her sunglasses falling off the perched position on her nose as Lily emerged, her red hair splayed all over. Sirius cackled and applauded James; Sierra awoke with a jolt, her magazine falling with a smack to the ground. 

"Did Potter push her in? She must've provoked him," Sierra said with a smile. 

"POTTER! That wasn't even funny!" Lily shrilled; James bowed. 

"You didn't look like you were having any fun," James said with an innocent smile. 

"You're such an idiot," Lily snarled, thoroughly put out she'd gotten her hair wet. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. "But if you were a real gentleman, you'd help me out." 

"Of course," James said still trying to compress his laughter. 

Lily extended a wet hand, bracing herself against the poolside with the other. James grabbed her and as soon as she felt his weight shift, she pulled hard and he toppled gracelessly in. She laughed along with Sierra, Sirius and Arabella who were all enjoying the flirtatious interaction between the two. James popped up, spitting out water like a fountain and thoroughly mad that he'd been tricked. She ruffled his hair and tried to dunk him. However, he proved again that he was taller and more powerful than her a little too late and she was soon seeing the underwater sights of his pool. Coming up for air, she only had time to inhale a short breath because James had already waited for her to emerge. He shot her a playful smirk and picked her up without much effort and started to lift her out of the water, prepared to toss her back into the water. Suddenly he stopped, his handsome smile abruptly gone; they were pressed right up against each other and the electricity flowing through them both would be enough to keep a back-up generator running smoothly for a week. She was suddenly too aware of her hair forming a sort of wet curtain around them, her arms wound around his neck and how she relished the feel of him being pressed right up against her; his eyes darkening with some foreign emotion she had yet to experience, not to mention that she was flat against him, feeling every muscle tense from contact. He relinquished his strong, almost protective grip on her hips and she swam away from him like he was a shark. 

Lily practically jumped out of the pool and wrapped her towel fully around herself; entire body was burning with embarrassment and something else she couldn't put her finger on. Something that had made her want to know how close they could get. 

Arabella and Sierra shot each other looks. Yet the look on their faces could not help but display that they relished the fact that there was still a spark between the two teenagers. ****

Lily exhaled loudly, pretending like nothing had just happened. "Excuse me." 

She walked briskly into the house and slammed the door shut; an uneasy tension filled the air. James grabbed a towel and sat down on Lily's previously occupied seat, patting his face with the towel. 

"What… just happened?" Sirius asked slowly, pushing himself off the edge of the pool and floating backwards. 

"That was weird. Cool and utterly sweet, but weird," Sierra said with her eyebrows still furrowed. 

James sighed and shrugged; pretending like this wasn't affecting him either. "No big deal." ****

Arabella shot a disbelieving look at James, whose eyes were downcast and didn't see her anyway. Arabella then looked knowingly at Sierra over her shoulder and then turned back to James. Sierra rolled her eyes in a statement that plainly said 'duh!'

"Does Jamesie have something to tell us all?" Sirius inquired innocently with a devilish smile. 

"No…" James trailed off, color rising in his cheeks. ****

"Aww. I told you guys – he's bonkers for Lilykins!" Sirius said teasingly. 

"I swear –" 

Lily cleared her throat behind him, her cheeks still visibly red. James looked up, the blush in his cheeks returning. "I think you're sitting in my seat."

"Terribly sorry," he mumbled and got up, sitting at the pool's edge. 

"What just happened?" Sierra asked in an undertone. 

"I have _no _idea," Lily said in a hushed voice. 

"Hmph. You don't like him, my arse. There's more spark between you two than in a heat lightening storm!" Arabella hissed.

Lily sighed submissively. What just happened in the pool could qualify as one of the scariest things that had ever happened to her – because she liked it. She wanted to deny it and embrace it at the same time. The conflicting emotions banging around inside her were enough to make her go cross-eyed. 

Dazedly, she stood up slowly and walked back into the house without a sound. This time, the girls followed her as she trudged slowly up the stairs. 

"Lily, what's wrong?" Sierra asked worriedly. 

Lily flopped on the bed, burying her head in the pillows. Something muffled came out but nobody even bothered to discern what was said. 

"What?" Arabella asked loudly. 

Lily sighed, propping herself up on her elbows to face her two friends.

"Oh… I sense a heart-to-heart talk coming on," Arabella said knowingly. 

"What would you guys think if I told you that I might still like him?" Lily asked timidly, plucking at the pillowcase and staring fixedly on nothing particular outside. 

Sierra and Arabella glanced at each other. 

"Well?" Lily pressed, her face turning pink again. 

"That's _great_ news, Lily!" Arabella exclaimed, trying to contain her glee. 

"Lily, honestly, it's about damn time!" Sierra said with a huge grin. They both reached over to hug her.

Lily smiled sheepishly, burying her face in her hands. "You can't tell _anybody_ – I don't want to spring it on him." 

"Like he doesn't already know," Arabella snorted. 

Lily looked panicked. "He _DOES_?" 

"Well… I think he might have a vague idea. Yes, he's a male and incredibly dense about these things, but he's not stupid Lil," Arabella replied. 

"So what should I do? I mean, we can't just go BOOM! Let's be best friends again," Lily said miserably. 

"Now this is why you've got best friends to keep you in check. The first thing you've got to do is _never ever_ let him onto the fact that you like him. Play hard to get, always go out of your way to be nasty to him; because if he's got the slightest inclination you like him, he'll go be a prat and ignore you, and you don't want that," Sierra said sagely. 

"Well, I know that, but what if he likes me too?" Lily asked worriedly. 

Arabella gave her a knowing smile. "Trust me Lily; you may have been the last to realize it, but James is most definitely still interested."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Of course that's not the end of the story; it hadn't even started. As it turns out, when the three girls ventured out of Lily's room, everyone had already gathered for lunch and was munching happily on a simple lunch of sandwiches and chips and juice. 

"Sierra! You missed it – I did a perfect 10 dive!" Sirius said, as proud as a child who had shown his mother a finger painting. 

Sierra laughed and kissed him. "I'm sure you did."

"It wasn't a 10 – it was a belly flop! I swear, Sirius is so klutzy he puts Evans to shame!" James said loudly. 

Lily's stomach dropped at his words but quickly covered it up, in case it showed on her face. This was going to be harder than it sounded. Play hard to get, play hard to get, she repeated in her mind. ****

"Thanks Potter," Lily said sarcastically, grabbing a sandwich off the big plate in the center of the table. 

"Welcome," he said through a mouthful of peanut butter. 

Lily shot him a revolted look and took a ladylike bite. 

"So… what're we going to do the rest of the day? Lounge by the pool?" Sierra asked hopefully. 

"Yeah… my dad said later he'd take us to Diagon Alley to buy our supplies and such –" 

"Can you believe our 5th year term starts in a week?" Arabella exclaimed. "Where did those four years go?"

"Mm… they did fly, didn't they?" Lily mused aloud. Nostalgic thoughts filled her mind of the things waiting there for her: her bed, her books, and the promises of an exciting new year. 

"I don't want to go back – I'd rather sit here in the sun and not have a care in the world," Sirius said, leaning back in his chair and throwing down his crumpled napkin.

"You do that _anyway_, idiot," Sierra said punching him playfully in the shoulder.

"Oh. Right." 

"Well… that was nice, but I'm off again. Great pool, Potter!" Arabella said, getting up and then pushing her chair in and grabbing a fresh towel. "Are you guys coming?" 

"I'm going to stay here and clean up," James said. 

Sierra looked at Lily pointedly. She cocked her head to the side and pretended to itch her neck all the while giving Lily exaggerated looks. 

Picking up on the hint, Lily jumped up with her plate, following James to the sink. "I think I'll help Potter out, actually. It's the least I can do to repay him for everything he's done." 

Everyone stared at her in amazement. Even James nearly dropped the porcelain plate he had in his hands. 

Sierra smiled encouragingly at her and gave her a small thumb's up. "Well, I'm off then with Arabella and – Sirius, stop eating! Didn't your mother ever tell you not to eat and then go swimming? – I guess you guys will holler if you need any help?" 

"Yeah," Lily said feeling a bit panicked about being alone with James. 

The screen door slid shut and Lily and James were alone in the kitchen. James silently picked up Sirius' plate and carried it over to the sink, dousing it in water and then stacking it on top of two others.

"Thanks for helping," James said stiffly. 

"Welcome," Lily said just as woodenly. Their hands accidentally brushed as they both moved to pick up Arabella's plate. Both of them instantaneously snatched their hands away as though they'd been burned. The jerky movement knocked the plate off the table and broke into neat porcelain shards. 

"Oh, damn," James said and ran to get a dustpan. 

"I'm so sorry! Those look expensive," Lily said, feeling dreadful she'd broken one of their plates. 

"Yeah, keyword there being _looked_," James said with a small grin. The charmed dustpan quickly swept up the pieces, floated over to the trash bin, and dumped them in, the pieces clanking against the side. 

Lily quickly went over to put the jar of peanut butter away in the pantry. She was just closing the door when she felt something cold and gooey hit the back of her neck and slide down her back. She yelped, reaching back and trying to get at the thing sliding down her back. She whirled around and saw a dumbfounded James holding a jelly knife that looked suspiciously like it'd been loaded with a shot of raspberry jelly aimed at her. 

"Did… you just throw raspberry jelly at me?" Lily asked stupidly. She squirmed as it reached her lower back and she quickly reached around to scoop up the jelly.

"Er… no! I promise – I was just pulling the knife out of the jar and it just… ricocheted off it, I swear!" James said innocently. 

Lily smirked. "I know you better than that, Potter. And it wasn't very nice – you just ruined a perfectly good bathing suit top!" 

"It's called _water_, Evans," James said dryly, "and that _hardly _passes as a bathing suit top."   
  


Lily was mortified. She turned her back to him again to put the peanut butter and a bag of flour caught her eye. Smiling devilishly, she took a handful of it and hurled it at James. 

White powder exploded _everywhere_, making it look like Christmas in the Potter's kitchen. His entire face and hair was coated with flour. Coughing and making white dust fly up, he wiped his glasses off and stared at her in disbelief. 

"This means war, Evans," he said with an equally impish smile. 

With a gleeful cackle, she took the entire flour bag in her arms and dumped it all over him. Laughing, he took the jar of jelly and smeared it all in her hair. 

"Oh, my God! That's going to take _forever_ to get out of my hair!" Lily shrieked, smiling broadly all the same. 

James ran over to the Muggle refrigerator they owned, paying no attention to her, and pulled out a carton of eggs. He opened it and smashed an egg on her head. Yelling as she felt the gooey yolk slide down her back, she reached over him and did the same thing. 

Mayhem ensued and the air became thick with flour, honey, eggs, grain, anything they could get their hands on. She was about to lob a huge blob of mustard at him when she suddenly lost her footing (probably due to the mass amounts of gunkon the floor) and slipped and slid for a few feet before she finally lost her footing altogether and would have crashed painfully to the floor, had it not been for James. He caught her by her upper arms as she tried to regain her footing. Her feet slid uselessly around the slippery floor, impossible to find her footing. She tried to grab onto something but slipped again, accidentally elbowing James in the gut. With a loud grunt and losing his grip on her, they both toppled to the ground. James hit the ground first, falling ungracefully for the second time that day, and Lily landed on top of him. ****

It was all she could do not to burst out laughing in a fit of nervous laughter. How odd that she had landed in James Potter's lap and having it be a twist of fate at the same time. 

"Well…" James said awkwardly, "this is… an interesting position to be caught in." 

"I'll say," Lily said as she made a move to get up. He let her, but only until she was properly sitting. He never released his grip on her arm. 

"Are you ok? You didn't hit your head or anything?" James asked worriedly, smoothing the jelly-coated strands of hair away from her face, his eyes searching. 

"Oh, no I'm fine," Lily said quickly, trying to break free of his grasp. She was becoming increasingly alarmed by that peculiar look he had in his eyes. 

"James… you can let go," she said quietly. She had given up on struggling away from him. 

"Now, are you sure you want that?" He asked quietly, his voice shaking. 

She was about to her mouth to say something when suddenly he leaned over and kissed her. Square on the lips. Surprised so much she nearly had a heart attack, she attempted to fight free but he only clutched her harder, only deepening the kiss. ****

_Jesus Christ_. _What a way to be kissed – covered in raspberry jam and flour_, Lily thought to herself, completely giddy with happiness. 

When the finally broke apart, nothing but silence resulted. Both of their cheeks were incredibly flushed and her pulse was pounding like a jackrabbits. 

"Er… well… I guess we'd better clean this up," James said quietly. 

"Y – yeah," Lily stammered. He helped her up and they quickly set to work. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

**YAY! The end! Finally! Some more lxj action for you. =D R/R!**


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